Jack Pakenham, R.U.A. b.1938

Borrowing its title from Manet's seminal painting (1863, Coll. Musée d'Orsay, Paris) which sparked much controversy when it was first exhibited at the Salon des Refusés in Paris, the present work similarly challenges the viewer by drawing attention to the political climate in Northern Ireland during the early 1990s.

Although born in Dublin, Pakenham has spent most of his life in Northern Ireland and studied at The Queen's University, Belfast as well as Stranmillis College, Belfast.  He has exhibited extensively at galleries such as The Fenderesky Gallery, Belfast; The Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast; The Whitechapel Gallery, London and The Ulster Museum, Belfast.