SB10M Woman of Aran, Inis Meain, Aran Islands, Ireland

The Aran Islands, Inis Mór (Big Island), Inis Meáin (Middle Island) and Inis Oírr (East Island) are steeped in cultural heritage and history.  In the past, inhabitants made precarious living from fishing and farming.  Until the 1930’s, islanders wore traditional dress: bright red flannel skirts and crocheted shawls for women and baggy trousers, colourful belts (crios) and waistcoats for men.

 

About the artist - Sue Bryan

Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, award-winning artist Sue Bryan now lives in New York City.  She works primarily in charcoal or ink and uses a small amount of watercolour to highlight her images.

In her series of drawings entitled ‘People of the Islands’, Sue Bryan brings to life the human condition of the Aran and Blasket Islands as she interprets it from photographs taken at the turn of the last century. Sue Bryan’s images are stark and her use of desaturated color recreates an acute realism of drained vitality, austerity and hardship. Her work brims with implied narrative and symbolism of a long ago Ireland that continues to echo through the years.