ANAM exhibition puts history on canvas

A Belfast artist is set to launch her first solo exhibition – ANAM – this week at her gallery and studio on the city’s Ormeau Road. Anna McKeever, who is from South Belfast, will open the exhibition of thirteen oil-on-canvas artworks focusing on the soul and stoicism of the people of Ireland; North and South. ANAM, the Irish word for soul, also has wider associations with how the island’s collective memory and experience continues to impact us in modern times.

Anna is a former doctor who studied in Glasgow and worked across Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand for ten years before returning home to Belfast in 2016. She started to paint at school and has been producing artwork for her entire adult life. Her reputation has grown rapidly both locally and internationally and she opened her own gallery on the Ormeau Road in 2021. To date her work has focused on bold, contemporary landscapes, abstract, and maritime art. Her prints and original paintings are highly sought-after across Ireland, the UK and have been purchased by collectors in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia and across the US.

Speaking before the opening of ANAM, Anna said:

“This exhibition is an exploration of what it means to be from the island of Ireland. What it means to be Irish, Northern Irish, or both. There are things that are so deeply woven into our identity that we barely recognise they are part of us. But we are all products of our past.

“The Irish psyche is often smudged over in popular culture. In order to fit a commercial narrative – a fairytale land known for joviality and humour. But there is a much darker side to our story. We are proud people. We have known suffering, and we have known loss. We have learnt to talk a lot but often say very little. We bury things very deeply here. Even Freud said ‘psychotherapy is lost on the Irish.’

“The works in this exhibition are purposely darker than my previous work. There is an undeniable darkness to this series. A somberness. A gentle stoicism. This is Ireland’s story, but the themes are universal.”

ANAM comprises thirteen paintings, all oil-on-canvas, and explores various themes in Irish history that have shaped our culture. These include the relationship between faith and the people of Ireland, the Famine, emigration, the Troubles, loneliness, and human connection.

The collection features locations across the island including the Aran Islands, the Burren, Dublin, Omagh, Kerry’s Dingle Peninsula among others.

ANAM opens to the public on 1^st October at the Anna McKeever Gallery, Level 2, 455 Ormeau Rd, Belfast BT7 3GQ. Further details online at www.annamckeever.com or on instagram @anna_mckeever.