Extramural Activity

“I’d rather trust a dealer on a badly lit street corner than an MLA in a three piece suit” — a hoarding over a street containing a Saracen, a DeLorean, and a heavily fortified British Army base: The original slogan (from a Maser piece of street art in Dublin) seems to have been “… than a criminal in a three piece suit” — the substitution with “MLA” suggesting criminality in the Assembly: there’s an Isle Of Man Bank check for seven million two hundred thousand pounds, made out to “ANMLA”, drawn on the account of “Northern and Southern Ireland tax payers” in the bottom left-hand corner.

And in three bubbles in the centre: “Do you think our 18 MPs came up the Bann in a bubble? Do you think out 108 MLAs came up the Lagan in a bubble? Do you think our 3 MEPs came up the Foyle in a bubble?” — meaning that none of these people were born yesterday — along with a fishbowl of bowler-hatted fish swimming around a Stormont flying the jolly roger/skull and cross-bones with a sign saying “Westminster 370 km”.

In the right-hand corner, Marguerite’s “traditional sweet shop” is “Closed For Ever!” The shop used to be on Waring Street at the junction with Hill Street (according to Frankie Quinn of the Red Barn Gallery).

Four faces watch from the window. Do you recognize any of them?

Here is video of artist Ciaran Gallagher talking about his work in the Dark Horse/Duke Of York courtyard.

Click image to enlarge
Copyright © 2015 Seosamh Mac Coılle
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