Burning of Belfast

Maria Downey

California artist Maria Downey received a fellowship in the early 1990s to study printmaking at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in Monaghan, Northern Ireland, about 70 miles from Belfast.

"The Troubles" in Northern Ireland lasted from 1969-1998 and led to over 3,000 deaths. While studying printmaking there Maria Downey could not help but be affected by the destruction and violence that had become commonplace during this period.

In her etching "Burning of Belfast" she depicts a city being consumed by flames in the background. In the foreground is the bombed and burned out shell of what appears to be a vehicle. Seemly unfazed by the violence a resident reads a newspaper in the street as another figure, hands on hips, casually studies the chaos.