Local artist to launch first solo exhibition in Birr this weekend

by Navjyoti Dalal

Birr will be steeped in art over the coming weeks as the town's Vintage Week and Arts Festival approaches. And one of the highlights of the festival will be local artist Christor's first solo art exhibition.

Entitled Catastrophe, the show, which is about to go on display in Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, comprises paint, film and digital print art.

Officially launching at 2.30pm tomorrow (Saturday, June 27), it will remain on display until August 31 and is set to take the main exhibition spot for the ten days of Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival (July 31 to August 7).

Christor, 23, grew up in Birr and chose his town for his first solo exhibit. The show is a homecoming of sorts for the artist who has lived in Limerick and Cork after completing secondary school in Birr.

The emerging multi-disciplinary artist has been part of group shows before and is excited for his solo debut.

"I was born in Laois, and as long as I can remember I lived in Birr. I have also spent some years in Limerick, and Cork," he explained.

"I am very happy that my solo exhibition is happening in Birr. It is a great spot for art, very artistically active. If you want to do something you can do it here,” said Christor whose mother is also an artist, and an art therapist.

His Instagram bio is a hint to the works on display in Catastrophe. It describes him as a "visual artist exploring identity, survival, and mental health through films, painted images, words".

"The pieces in the show feed off many personal experiences and my journey as a queer and alternative individual who sees the world differently," Christor explained.

He shared an example of a painting of a diagram of a single atom of plutonium, indicating the hidden violence within this single atom.

It is noteworthy that his works carry a staple of four colours – black, white, red and blue. Christor explains that the reason is his visual impairment.

"Occasionally I would get into arguments around not understanding the colours right. Around the age of 18 I got it checked, and discovered I was mildly colourblind. So I developed my style around the colours I could see. If I couldn't entirely trust my eyes for colours, so I chose the colours I could rely on,” he said.

Christor believes having an active mind can lead one down rabbit holes one is not prepared for, especially for people who are different. The paintings reflect his highly-active mind.

"When I was 16, my English teacher asked about what we're good at. I found that I am very good at thinking, often bordering at overthinking.

"I was always imagining worst case scenarios. If I am getting a call, my mind would start imagining -- why is this person calling me, have I done something wrong? Queer and alternative people see things differently. They're constantly evaluating scenarios," said the self-taught artist.

Being and feeling different is not new to Christor. He has spent his early years feeling like an outsider.

"My parents are from England and Scotland. I attended the only protestant primary school in town, the only school where children of other nationalities also studied. But the community college was quite a different environment, very Irish-Irish.

"With British parents, I felt like I am an outsider looking in, despite being born and raised in Ireland,” Christor informed. He added that he dropped his surname after many instances of people spelling it incorrectly.

* The 'Catastrophe' exhibition opens at 2.30pm on Saturday, June 27, and is free to attend during Birr Theatre and Arts Centre's opening hours.