Sarah Downey looks at constancy and evolution in Chris Wilson’s art practice, ahead of his retrospective in April at Strule Arts Centre, Omagh
The power of a map cannot be underestimated – the delineation of land and territory has always evoked strong feelings. Growing up in Glengormley, a few miles outside of Belfast, in the 1960s and 1970s, Chris Wilson’s appropriation of cartography in his multi-media works is unsurprising. The dominant themes of Wilson’s work – division of land, space, the Church – have remained constant since the 1980s with his first major exhibitions at The Crescent Arts Centre (1985), The Orchard Gallery (1986), the Fenderesky Gallery (1986) and the Project Arts Centre (1987). ‘Landmarks’, Wilson’s retrospective at Strule Arts Centre, recounts the journey of Wilson’s works throughout the course of his career, mapping the constant themes and displaying their evolution as the landscape of his practice advances.
David Davidson pays tribute to Bill Doyle, Dublin-born master photographer, who in these fond studies has left an indelible record of his country