A new art installation commissioned by the Thomas Devlin Fund and aimed at highlighting the futility of violence has been unveiled in an arts centre in North Belfast. The Permanent Present, by artist Mark Garry, was unveiled at the MAC in St Anne’s Square last week.
The Thomas Devlin Fund was set up in February 2006, in memory of the North Belfast schoolboy who was tragically murdered on the Somerton Road in August 2005.
Since then Thomas’ parents, Penny and Jim and siblings Megan and James have been promoting public awareness about the effects and impact of the type of violent attack which brought about Thomas’s tragic death.
The new sculpture consists of 400 metal lines in the main foyer of the MAC, creating a spectrum of colour that travels through the space akin to a beam of light refracting and reflecting.
“Young people use music and the arts to express themselves and it is our belief that creative expression can effect change in people’s lives,” said Penny Holloway, Thomas’ mum.
“The MAC embodies change and new hope for the future, which are ideals that we share. The MAC’s commitment to working with young people across the arts made it the obvious location for us to collaborate with and to commission this stunning and thought provoking work by Mark Garry.”
The Permanent Present will be a permanent sculpture displayed in the MAC and can be experienced from various viewpoints within the building.
