Kevin Mooney’s work traverses boundaries between history and myth. His
paintings and sculptures originate from his curiosity about the
histories of migration of Irish people and also his interest in the
culture making actions of migrants in general. Fragmentary, historical
and anarchic, these works challenge perceived notions of native folk
cultures.
Mooney’s materials are both established and fresh but he always plays
with the notion of time. His use of clay, sticks, oil paint, rough jute,
nails and varnish echo the 17th century artists working across
mainstream European, African and folk art idioms that he seeks to
connect with, conceptually and idiomatically. Mooney’s works appear both
in this contemporary moment, and outside of time. Some appear aged and
slightly broken down, as artefacts from an unknowable era. The works
play with imagery and languages from historically and temporally
disparate cultures, compressing time and history into the immediate
space of the canvas or the sculpture. This immediacy and urgency brings
an aliveness to the fore in Mooney’s deeply felt and historically
informed practice.