New Cork mural challenges people to think ‘What is Home?’
'What is home?': A new mural by Dublin artist Asbestos, created for Ardú 2021 on South Main St, Cork. Picture: Artist Asbestos
A new mural in Cork is calling on people to think about the question ‘what is home?’.
The mural, located on South Main St in Cork’s city centre, is part of Ardú 2021, a street art project.
It will see four large scale murals painted across the city.
Three of the four have been finished to date.
The latest mural was created by Dublin artist Asbestos and depicts a man with a cardboard house.
The mural “challenges the passerby to think about ‘What is Home?’”
“Do you have one, is it safe, can you afford it? Never as a country has our sense of what home means been more at threat.”
The mural’s creator said he painted it to “start a conversation with the public about what home means to them”.
Asbestos said: “As a country we are currently in an existential crisis over housing and our need to put a roof over our heads.
"There’s a fear and uncertainty about finding a safe space, and the system seems to be stacked in favour of the landlords.
“The figure wearing the box is me, but a fictional version of myself who’s looking at the world with a naive viewpoint.
"So each of my masks, or personas is a character that’s asking a different question.”
The artist said that home “isn’t simply about where you were born, it’s where you feel you belong, where you feel safe, where you’re welcomed, where you can come back to and feel accepted, loved and part of a community”.
“We seem to have lost sight of this recently because we’re so concerned about rent, mortgages or even having a home.”
The main aim of the Ardú street art project is to commission artwork from home-grown talent of the highest level.
The other murals in the project include the , by Northern Ireland-based artist Friz (above), at St Finbarr’s Rd, Cork.
An artwork that “explores Movement” by Navan-born artist Shane O’Malley can be found on the Lower Glanmire Rd/Horgan’s Quay.
The fourth and final wall for Ardú 2021 is work in progress, currently being painted by Cork-born artist Conor Harrington, at Bishop Lucey Park on Grand Parade.
Conor will be working throughout this week and members of the public are encouraged to come and watch as his piece comes to life.
Based in London since the mid 2000s, Harrington has created street art in New York, Miami, Paris, London, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Aalborg, Mallorca, Sao Paulo, San Juan, and the Bethlehem Wall; this is his first large-scale mural in his hometown.
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