A new exhibition at Cultúrlann Sweeney Kilkee entitled ‘Monsters and Us’ is on show until the middle of June and behind the art is a powerful message created by a Mountshannon father and son team.
Monsters and Us’ is an exhibition of works by Fionn Crombie Angus, with help from his father Jonathan Angus. Fionn is interested in mythology and the stories of the peoples of the earth, modern and ancient. He loves outsiders, outliers, and one-of-a-kind originals. Though it should not define him, Fionn is down syndrome.
Fionn’s father, Jonathan explains the reason behind the art work. “In the world of stories, those we call monsters often live on the dimly lit margins of society, cast there by the majority, who is made uncomfortable by what these ‘others’ say about homogenous, mainstream culture”.
He continued “In the political world of today, people who are labelled ‘Disabled’ are sometimes cast in a similar cultural role. People who consider themselves ‘normal’ are fearful of or take pity on those who carry this label.
Our art explores this parallel. We work to identify ways in which, although only one of our two-person team has a disability label, we are both disabled (particularly though isolation) while at the same time made completely able by working together. We see this dynamic also in all people around us”.
“The monsters in the shadows reside as well in our hearts. We cultivate relationships with these monsters wherever possible”, Angus concluded.
This exhibition is part of the work of Fionnathan Productions, a not-for-profit Social Enterprise. Fionnathan exists to have fun and change the world, to trouble your understanding of ability, to reveal superstars in our midst, and to prove that, in fact, we are the people we’ve been waiting for. Through music, live presentations, videos, and visual arts, they seek to collaborate with diverse people who are passionate about what they do.