THE artist behind a striking new mural in Ennis created in reaction to the ongoing crisis in Palestine has said she wants the artwork to be a symbol of hope.
Rachel Macmanus, who has painted a number of murals throughout the town as part of the ‘Negative Space Art Collective’, recently unveiled her latest large scale work at Moran’s Carpark. The imagery for the new mural was created using a Unicef photograph of Palestinian children for reference with Rachel surrounding them with symbolic images of keys and doves.
The painting was created by Rachel on behalf of People Of Clare Against Genocide. Rachel said, “It was my honour to paint this mural. The relentless horror and destruction we see daily and have seen for months and months now is hard to process and the feelings of helplessness and anger make us all feel powerless and despairing. Like many people I felt helpless and was becoming desensitised to the relentless awful footage of dead kids and mutilated bodies and military atrocities.
“It’s important to me also to say that I personally am against all killing, all bombing, all atrocities, not just of Palestinian kids but also happening in Sudan and Ukraine to name but two other places.
“I do not want this desensitisation process to happen and so this mural was my way of doing something and showing solidarity, and hope. I won the lottery many years ago by being born into a part of the world where I am safe, and now am privileged to be in the position where I can make work like this.”
Sarah Geraghty of People of Clare against Genocide explained that the idea of the mural was something the group had been working towards for a number of months.
“A few of our members had been up to Belfast and seen the beautiful murals on the Falls Road depicting links between the Palestinian and Irish struggle for freedom,” she said.
“The images are so powerful and speak louder than words. We had kept an eye out for a suitable location and then it was just a matter of asking.
“We found Rachel through Negative Spaces and she was the perfect person for the job. Her attention to detail in capturing the resilience and supportive nature of the Palestinian people can be seen in the piece she chose to paint. We have received really positive feedback about the mural, people are amazed at how beautiful and powerful it is.
“Art speaks to people in a different way. We hear and see things on the news and social media but, this will leave people wondering and hopefully they will question more.”
Rachel spent almost 30 hours on the artwork, not including working on its design and preparation. She told us there were some challenges finding a site suitable for larger art pieces in Ennis. She was delighted that the owner of Cornucopia which owns the wall which was to become the home of the mural was happy to support the project.
When it came to designing the artwork, she was conscious of the presence of another nearby poignant painting by Shane O’Malley and Marcus O’Connor, remembering young Patrick Morrissey who was shot in 1921.
The message for the new mural “needed to focus on hope as opposed to anger” she outlined.
“I had researched images and decided that Palestinian children would work- but again focusing on the hope aspect,” she said.
“I found a gorgeous photo on the Unicef website that I felt would work- four young kids in a row holding hands smiling, bundled up in coats and layers, but with little barefeet. Against a blurred background of a ruined urban environment. I decided to plan the design around this image.”
Explaining the keys and doves she said, “The Palestinian key is the Palestinian symbol of homes lost in the Nabka, when more than half of the population of mandatory Palestine were either expelled or fled violence in the  1948 Palestine Expulsion and flight and subsequently denied the right to return. 
“The key is considered part of a hope for return and a claim to the lost properties.
“The doves are a symbol of peace. I drew the keys and doves freehand first onto brown paper and then cut them out so as to make sure the freehand nature of the mural was retained stylistically throughout.
“I wanted these two elements- the keys and the doves- to be there but not too visually obvious. They are clearly to be seen on the side wall when you travel in through the lane and then can be seen as visual echoes on the main wall.”
Rachel thanked Brian and Sarah of the People Of Clare against Genocide and Sinead of Cornucopia for their support in facilitating work on the new mural.