Out from the Darkness

If your in London between 13 Nov to 18 Nov then we suggest you go along and check out an exhibition of work by Patrick Maguire.
Out from the Darkness: Recent works by Patrick Maguire
Private View: Wednesday 15 November, 6-9pm
13–18 November 2017

Opening at Cavespace in London on the 13 November, Out from the Darkness is the first display of recent works made by the artist Patrick Maguire (b. 1961). A self-taught artist working in charcoal, pastels and pencil, Patrick’s work expresses a turbulent life and testifies to his irrepressible imagination. His art is tied to life both in apprehending the past and illuminating a future. While his subject matter relates to a uniquely troubling childhood, his colouring and dense grid abstractions connect with a universal vocabulary of dark and light,
nothingness and colour.
Maguire’s subject matter traces back to his wrongful imprisonment as a child member of the Maguire Seven, an innocent family falsely convicted in connection with the IRA bombing of a Guildford pub in 1974. Creativity is a
crucial access to his past, and blueprint for a future. During his imprisonment, Patrick illuminated the letters to his parents with intricate drawings and cartoons. He rediscovered visual art in the early 2000s when he decided to face up to his childhood trauma through creating hundreds of charcoal compositions.
In 2009, he published the critically acclaimed novel My Father’s Watch about his experience from conviction to exoneration. Patrick has since focused on visual art as a primary outlet. Much of Patrick’s work is still about imprisonment: the stark outline of an architectural prison footprint; black bars slashing across a
face. A recurring image is a red box surrounded by black, which represents the unceasing red light the guards kept turned on all night when Patrick was held solitary confinement. Red also represents hope – it is strength, it resists the dark.
Patrick’s story is known as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history. Arrested at 13, he was convicted at 14, imprisoned in an adult high security prison, often held in solitary, until he was released in 1980 at age 19. Kept in separate facilities from his family, Patrick has described “the fears, the
loneliness, the not knowing; having five birthdays and Christmases away from 
my family. I just became number 333892.” (BBC News, 2005). The Maguire Seven were vindicated in 1991, after some members of the family had served up to 16 years. The public apology only came later in 2005 after further outcry, with then Prime Minister Tony Blair apologising in Parliament for their “ordeal” and “injustice”, affirming that “they deserve to be completely and publicly exonerated.”
About the Artist
Solo exhibitions include: Kingsgate Gallery, London, 2009; Mario’s, Kentish
Town, 2011; Irish Centre, London, 2011 (including a play adaptation of My
Father’s Watch); Sam Hallam, The Green Hut, London, 2012; East West Artisans
(Asia Art Therapy), Tianjin, 2016. My Father’s Watch screening with play
adaptation at Devenish Complex, Belfast, 2013.
The artist is currently collaborating with East West Artisans (Asia Art Therapy),
an organisation bringing art to children with autism in China. A portion of
proceeds of this exhibition will fund the artist’s trip to Singapore and China
where he will work with the children.
About Cavespace
Cavespace is an artist led retail space, founded with the objective to connect
with the local art community and provide a space for the exchange of ideas on
a local platform. The show is curated by Charlotte Call, an art world professional
working here as an independent curator.
Contacts:
Jessica Baldwin, Producer, jessicambaldwin@outlook.com
Charlotte Call, Curator, charlotte.a.call@gmail.com
Visit
Cavespace
81 Tachbrook Street
London SW1V 2QP
Mon – Fri, 10am-6pm
Sat, 11am-5pm