Pigsy poses the question: Are you better off being ordinary and not having to deal with problems associated with being extraordinary? These problems include lack of privacy, an expectation from the public and all forms of negative attention, which has been exacerbated by the emergence of social media. From Jesus being crucified to the struggles of Elvis and Basquiat in more recent times - he wonders is the public that drives the mental issues that affect people in the spotlight or are they a trade off from the ability that they possess as performers. Pigsy also fears the prospect of becoming successful himself and instead of painting being a release it becomes a burden, where a certain level of “performance” is expected.

1900mm W x 1450mm H Mixed Media on Canvas

€7900

This piece deals with the contradiction between the refusal to adhere to society’s rules and the loneliness and helplessness that are a result of this refusal. “Non-Serviam” (I Will Not Serve) is a bold statement of non-compliance and self sufficiency but looking deeper into the piece there is a call for help and the need for a guardian angel to save the artist. With the knowledge that almost every main character in Pigsy’s art is a self-portrait, there is the suggestion that the guardian angel required is his art and there exists a hope of self-salvation through it. Another clear indicator of the confusion caused by this paradox is the use of the word Malaika (an Islamic word for angel) on the angel’s chest, spelled wrong as Malaka (a Greek term for wanker).

1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas

€6000

It is a rarity that a character in a Pigsy piece is not a version of the artist himself but in this piece the figure is that of famous Irish writer James Joyce. The inspiration for this painting came after watching a documentary on Joyce and the realised connection between him and the artist's uncle, also James, whom he never met but who's house he now owns. Was Joyce talking about people like James in his celebrated novel Dubliners This is the redacted text for the show which I do not want anyone to see this because it is too personable, and I want something Could he have been a role model and mentor for Pigsy for he was also a poet and artist. The title "Mo Laoch" is Gaelic for "My Hero", a reference to the actual feeling for Joyce and the potentially stronger feeling for his uncle that, alas, never existed. Note that Joyce holds the red spelling book, Pigsy's nemesis, an item depicted in many of his works to signify his struggle with dyslexia.

1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas

€5900