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Willie Doherty , Irish, b.1959

Title

Derry, 30th January 2022

Date2022

MediumPigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta 315gsm

Dimensions

106.6 × 133.3 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 2022

Object numberNGI.2022.36

DescriptionDoherty’s photograph was taken on the morning of the fiftieth anniversary of Bloody Sunday, a massacre on 30 January 1972, when British soldiers shot 26 unarmed civilians during a protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people. The picture shows the corner of Chamberlin Street and Harvey Street the location where Father Edward Daly, waving his white handkerchief, led a group of people to safety as they carried one of the victims. In contrast to the trauma and bravery of the event, Doherty’s image shows a peaceful and uneventful scene, absent of human activity. His highly considered but matter-of-fact technique reduces the opportunity for artistic interpretation of the subject. The forensic style, instead, allows for a consideration of the picture’s details, provoking the viewer to reflect on the relationship between the image, the site and its traumatic history.
ProvenanceThe artist and Kerlin Gallery, Dublin; Purchased, 2022