Curios About: ANIMALS | FADE by Linda Coogan Byrne

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ANIMALS | FADE
Linda Coogan Byrne
Oil paint and pastel on hard paper and canvas, A1/A2

1. This work is about … animals’ lives and how they matter and should matter to everyone. My collection [of which this painting is one part] is my attempt at capturing various species of animals who are slaughtered for human food consumption and forgotten about as their lives “fade” into the backdrop. Hopefully these images will help people go and think about what they contribute to by eating animal products. All materials used are ethically sourced.

2. I made this work because … I am constantly ridiculed for being a vegan, but I am proud to respect my fellow earthlings – we all share this planet and we are allowing it to be destroyed by a failed agribusiness model that consumes the land and takes innocent animal lives by the million every day. What a journey trying to put ideas onto canvas of how much I feel animals are abused in the world. As an artist who has endured a broken hand twice in one year, how emotional a journey it has been trying to remain true to them.

3. I hope when people see this work they will … It is my own depiction on how we as a human race are allowing animals to fade into the backdrop and how we turn a blind eye to the innocent slaughter and go about our day-to-day lives as if it isn’t happening. It is very simple however: the blood is on our hands and the ice caps are melting. These issues are not going away. It is my hope that the images in the exhibition will make people think about the food they eat and where it comes from.

4. You can see my work … a preview show will take place in the Kildare Gallery in Carton House in September. Samples are also on dailyveganlife.com/art/.

Curios About is a series featuring works by Dublin artists. Each artist is asked to submit an image of one work and answer a set of questions about it. We’d love it if you’d submit something you’ve made.