Navan artist to showcase talents in TG4 short film

Shane O’Malley was inspired by seeing graffiti art on MTV

A NAVAN-born visual artist who was chosen to feature in a new TG4 short film series

Shane O'Malley showcases his work and talent in Samhlú Croí Cruthaitheach a season of twelve commissioned abstract short-films featuring artists and creatives is available to watch on the TG4 player.

Originally from Navan Shane is now based in Galway city. His work explores colour, forms and symbols through painting, a meeting point of a studio practice and mural art painted in public spaces.

Shane’s strong use of colour stems from his origins in graffiti culture. He began painting graffiti in 2001 drawn to the act of writing his name, which was creative in one way while destructive in another.

His love for the creative began as a youngster in Navan as he explains: "I had a really good art teacher in St Pats and I think I was just encouraged and I got into graffiti and street art as a teenager. There's a big wall under a bridge in Drogheda that has a lot of graffiti art and that was an influence as well, I eventually became friends with the guy who runs that and I cam back every year to paint that spot.

"Not many people were aware of what graffiti art was at the time, I was watching MTV and seeing it more on TV and it was just something that really captured my imagination.

"I ended up going to art college and specialising in graphic design and in 2016 I decided to go into art 2016. I have a studio set up and I'm just working for myself.

The Navan man's artwork has explored personal themes that developed into bodies of work - ‘Madness vs Reality’(2014), ‘Duality’ (2017) and ‘Order and Chaos’ (2018).

He says he is drawn to both the meditative slow process of painting with a brush in the studio and the faster act of spray painting and making art in public spaces. The talented has painted graffiti and murals around Ireland and Europe.

Shane adds that living in the west of Ireland gives him great scope for inspiration.

"Living in Galway you are connected to Connemara, I remember being in Navan and going to the Hill of Tara, there's something lovely about being there in that untouched space too."