Bogside Art
On their Own Steam
“Artistic images bear witness to the inner journey and their quality determines the effectiveness of their testimony” (Joseph). Tom Kelly mentioned during the tour that the Bogside Artists did not want their artwork to be about itself, but about the messages they were meant to convey. That being said, Tom Kelly, Kevin Hasson, and William Kelly were no beginners, and the murals they created successfully draw in the eye long enough to comprehend the message, if the sheer scale of the murals were not already sufficient. Plenty of other murals are present throughout Derry, but the Bogside Artists also succeeded in creating a style that was uniquely theirs, which had the effect of keeping the intended themes their artwork presented consistent for its ability to be immediately recognized.
A Call for Peace
The work of the Bogside Artists came out of the conflicts the artists lived through and eventually evolved to reflect a desire for peace and reconciliation. Tom Kelly explained that the color schemes of the murals reflect where in memory they are meant to belong. The murals that memorialize conflict and suffering have a tendency towards being more monochromatic, and this serves the purpose of remembering the suffering that happened, but keeping it in the past. The famous Peace mural is the most vibrant of the murals, and it reflected the artists’ belief that at the creation of this mural, it was finally time for the community to move toward peace and acceptance.
