The Arthouse, Stradbally, is hosting an exhibition of paintings and drawings entitled Merman by artist Ray Murphy. This exhibition of work has developed as a result of a collaborative project with award winning poet Jean O’Brien.

The work was commissioned specifically for Culture Night on 23^rd September and it showcased as part of the programme in the Arthouse, Stradbally, that included a reading by Jean O’Brien of her award winning poem Merman and other poems and Ray Murphy’s visual and personal response to it.

“My initial literal visualizations gradually changed over time. I lived with “Merman” over several months and gradually honed in on the poem’s several layers of meaning, with special emphasis on an Irish mythological one. The Salmon, as a symbol of rebirth, transformation, and regeneration, is a powerful metaphor for the ‘happenings’ in the poem. The dark, otherworldly side of the story was of particular interest to me. Ideas fluctuated from the literal to the surreal, and after dark, brought with them thoughts of memory, ideas of longevity within memory, as in Memory Preserved I and II, and perhaps how we, like the Salmon, orientate ourselves in life, seeking direction home to a satisfactory conclusion. Our natural instincts, though eroded, are still with us, and should not be ignored; for we too, just as was portrayed in myth by our ancient ancestors, are also swimming the Whirlpool of the Natural Cycle.”

All paintings and drawings are in pen, Indian ink, and watercolour, are on Fabriano paper.

Ray studied at N.C.A.D., and taught in Dublin before making Laois his home. Ray’s use of the human figure to portray his ideas and interpret the literature which inspires him is particularly evident in these latest works.

Jean has had three collections of poetry published, her most recent, Lovely Legs was published by Salmon in 2009, her forthcoming collection Merman will come out in the Spring. Her poem Merman, which has inspired this collaboration of the painter and the poet, won the prestigious biennial Arvon International Poetry award (UK) in 2010. The Arvon award is the largest award in Britain and Ireland for a single poem and was judged by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.