Patrick Maguire - “rarewitch's It Hurts To Brain”
Project Statement:
“rarewitch's It Hurts To Brain” is an eclectic art exhibition from Northern Irish visual artist, animator and musician Patrick Maguire. The show features a variety of mixed media, 2D, sculptural, video and collage works, as well as an interactive board game/live action surrealist play and an advanced screening of new animated short “It Hurts To Brain”. Steeped in satire the work fuses together the banal with the surreal, reflective of the unfamiliar and strange times we currently find ourselves in. We exist at the forefront of human evolution but somehow nothing feels right; all the information in the world at the click of a button but still the simple things are impossible to understand.
As you navigate the surreal stimuli, you can also take a step inside this fragmented, chaotic world by playing a live action board game/surrealist play where you play as a different online social media influencer whilst reciting looping dialogue and performing repetitive actions illustrating the artificial nature of online influencer culture. The players performances become reflective of the spurious nature of artficial humanity in an increasingly curated world.
Finally, a variety of animated shorts will be screened throughout the show with an advanced screening of new surreal animated short film “It Hurts To Brain” on the opening night.
Artist Statement:
I am a multidisciplinary artist, animator and musician currently based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. My eclectic practice includes painting, sculpture, animation, videography, installations and live-action board games which become surrealist plays. I pick apart the cultural forces that invade our everyday life in both celebratory and critical ways by employing satire and irony as tools to expose the horrors and joys of the human condition.
Surrealist humour is at the heart of my practice, utilising it to ridicule the inherent absurdities of human behavior, social structures, and cultural norms. However, beneath the veil of irony and humor lies a profound introspection of meaning, identity, and the warm charm of our collective absurdities. I studied my BA at Goldsmiths College graduating with First Class Honours in 2019 after which I studied my MFA at Ulster University graduating in 2024.
