Art exhibition with a difference

Nenagh man’s ‘journey’ with cystic fibrosis

A unique exhibition depicting a local man’s life with cystic fibrosis was formally launched at Nenagh Arts Centre last week.

Dominic Murphy has created a series of sketches and paintings inspired by his hospital treatment for CF. The pictures of medicine, machines and anatomy are something the artist crafted to pass the time while undergoing treatment.

Declaring the exhibition open last Thursday evening, Trish Taylor Thompson, Artistic Director, Nenagh Arts Centre, said the exhibition comes from the heart of someone living with CF who had the courage to put his experience down on paper and share it with the world.

Dominic’s brother, Brendan Murphy said art had always been of interest to his younger sibling, who was always very creative. The pictures in Dominic’s exhibition are more than just canvass and paint; they represent a “journey” for the artist.

Brendan explained that Ireland has the highest rate of CF per capita in the world, with about 1,400 people affected. One in 19 people are carriers of the CF gene.

Dominic has long campaigned for greater awareness about this largely misunderstood condition and for a greater standard of care for those living with it. It was his hope that through telling his story, he could educate people about cystic fibrosis.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Dominic has been interested in art all his life and started painting as a child. In 1999 he moved to Dublin and experimented with different forms of media with Park House Art Link. He also worked with Miriam Lambert of the well-known puppet theatre family and attended Roslyn Park College in Sandymount.

Despite leaving school without a formal education qualification, Dominic was determined to attend college and he succeeded in gaining a course placement at Sallynoggin College of Further Education. He sold paintings to fund his training.

But his health deteriorated and this and the resulting depression resulted in Dominic making the difficult decision to drop out of college.

Throughout his struggles with physical and mental health problems, painting has remained a lifeline for Dominic, as did the friendships he made, both in Dublin where the artist was nicknamed ‘Domo’ and in his hometown of Nenagh, where he went by the name ‘Murf’. In a nod to the friendships that can sustain us through our darkest days, Dominic now signs his work ‘Domo Murf’.

The paintings that make up this exhibition represent Dominic’s most recent work.

He says that painting represents a chance for him to put in order his thoughts, make sense of his chaotic world and find beauty and comfort in the simplest of things. Art has always been his comfort when life seems especially bleak.

Dominic invites everyone to take their time when looking at this exhibition, take what they want from it and enjoy it. The exhibition continues until October 30.