If You Listen Very Carefully, You Can Hear Her Breathe

Show Some Love is a campaign by non-profit Another World Belfast (web | Fb | ig) to collect toiletries and underwear for ‘Love Packs’. The organisation takes its name and inspiration from the last line of Arundhati Roy’s Confronting Empire (which was subsequently expanded into An Ordinary Person’s Guide To Empire (p. 86)): “Another world is not only possible, she’s on the way and, on a quiet day, if you listen very carefully you can hear her breathe.” (The last line actually appears to be “On a quiet day, you can hear her breathing.”)

Behind their stencil on the electrical box is the spring 2019 Hit The North piece by artist Emmanlene Blake (web), portraying author and journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot in the head in Creggan (by a gunman from the New IRA) on April 18th while observing a riot from behind police lines. She was taken to Altnagelvin hospital but later died. At her funeral in Belfast, Father Martin Magill was inspired to ask why her death was required in order to make politicians work together. He received a standing ovation (BBC-NI).

Later in the process the electrical box was painted over in keeping with the piece (“Here’s to saying goodbye to bombs and bullets”) and a quotation added to the main piece: “It won’t always be like this. It’s going to get better – Lyra McKee.” See the final two images, below.