At first, I wonder is it the work of a primary school student or an art project that is intending to make a statement. A chance wander in Dublin has led me into the Douglas Hyde Gallery and in front of me are paintings on old jotter paper framed immaculately in white.
Having not read the biography of the artist i stand amongst the paintings really wanting to know more. Who are the figures in the painting? Where are the scenes painted? And why are they being exhibited?
I come to learn the artist in question is James Castle, an American self taught artist. He was born deaf and refused to learn to speak, sign, read or write. So, he retreated into his art making paintings on everyday materials. Castle's favorite method of working was to use stove soot and mix it with spit to use as his paint. His paintings were of the environment surrounding him, the house where he lived and the people who lived there.
After reading about Castle, the paintings came to life and began to speak volumes about the man and the challanges he faced in life. The art was his was of making sense of the world and the people in it. A truly extraordinary story told through the strokes of his paint brush.
