Esker Arts Centre to host exhibition by prominent Offaly artist

‘The Vitruvian: Uncovering the Layers of Cancer’ which is a body of work by Tullamore artist Vincent Devine will be exhibited at Esker Arts Centre in Tullamore next week. It has been co-created with cancer researchers and patient partners at the UCD Conway Institute, University College Dublin.

Inspired by the iconic drawing of ‘The Vitruvian Man’ by artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent has created a striking image of an androgynous human to visually map the different perspectives and approaches that researchers use to understand cancer at molecular, cellular, tissue and human levels.

This exhibition will be on show on Tuesday, November 14 and Wednesday, November 15, alongside events that will bring the exhibition to life. Vincent and up to three cancer researchers and patient partners will discuss the creative process itself and the ongoing cancer research efforts, highlighting progress in this area. These talks will take place at 2.30pm and 5.30pm on November 15.

Speaking about the collaboration, Vincent said: "This project is a collaboration between myself and the researchers at the Conway Institute in UCD and it is a modern day reimagining of Leonardo Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man as a way to show the cancer research that's done at the Institute."

"The message we're trying to get through with this painting and other paintings is essentially awareness through art where sometimes language on its own doesn't carry the message. A visual language is now a way to get across the subject matter in different areas of research."

Elaborating on how he approached the project, Vincent stated: "The first thing you do is you take the in-depth research so I get the analysis of the research of the topic that I'm depicting and then I use things like either animals or the human form or inside the human body or the micro environment or the landscapes to kind of represent the research in different areas."

The local artist concluded: "There seems to be a huge avenue for a visual language which shows the work done in different areas of scientific research and I suppose I hadn't realised that most of the research is based on visual perception so it's the perfect marriage where you bring in fine art and science to create this awareness around different topics."

More than ever before, cancer survivors are living longer and better lives. Cancer researchers in Ireland are contributing to global improvements in cancer outcomes. The exhibition is free to attend.

To book a ticket for the discussions visit eskerarts-tickets.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173637775