A Broken Sky Revisited by Jack Pakenham

A Broken Sky Revisited

Jack Pakenham is without doubt one of Ireland’s most interesting artists. He was born in Dublin in 1938 and has lived most of his life in Belfast which he considers his native home. He graduated from Queen’s University, Belfast in 1959 where he read Philosophy, French and Spanish. He taught English in a Belfast Secondary School from 1961 to 1990, all the time painting and writing. He has painted full-time since then and has exhibited regularly nationally and internationally since 1960.

‘A Broken Sky’ is a collection of sixteen large canvasses produced between 1989-2020 exploring and inspired by the early and middle years of the Troubles, in a way which only someone like Pakenham can with his deep philosophical thought and social awareness.

‘Revisited’ these works are as deeply and poignantly relevant and significant today as they were in 2020. As Eamonn Mallie wrote in 2005:

“Playing out before our eyes are the many manifestations of cruelty, grotesqueness, disorder and brokenness within relationships and within our community….
Pakenham assumes the role of political and social commentator or note taker holding up a mirror constantly in a shattered state symbolically reflecting the increasingly dysfunctional community which was his world and is still ours.”

Those who know Pakenham’s work will recognize the drama, vulnerability, anxiety, sadness, unease in the work, juxtaposed by the courage and fearlessness of his willingness to challenge. The ventriloquist’s doll, the clown and the bride are never far away. For those less familiar this work ‘A Broken Sky Revisited’ at Sea Holly is an ideal opportunity to get up close and personal with this incredible body of work.

Pakenham himself will be present in the gallery regularly, and there will also be the opportunity to view Paul Yates’ documentary film for BBC Northern Ireland which examines his motivations behind this particular series of work.

This exhibition was rudely interrupted by Corona Virus. We can’t be sure what the future holds but we will do our best to give you another chance to see these epic paintings.