We began noticing the painted walls of Cork within an hour of our arrival. Every corner we turned, and every alley we cut through had bold artwork with bold messages.
“End Dublin rule in Cork.” [photo by Tara McMullen]Dublin was a nice enough city, but Tara and I loved Cork. It has a proud and unapologetic personality. It’s character was a sort of challenge. “Here we are,” the voices said, and we could take it or leave it, but they wouldn’t much care what our opinion was. We liked that.
Cork street art is only one example of that, but it’s a good example. I’m drawn to street art and graffiti anyway, so I was already looking at the walls. It was fun to have these voices revealed to us even on that chilly windy day while there were few people about.
At the end of our Ireland trip (we’re home now) I recalled my graffiti shots and thought I’d do a collection of all the wall art from the trip. When we got home, I reviewed images and was reminded that almost 100% of our graffiti photos came from Cork.
These pieces were some of the first we noticed, and we went over for a closer look.This one really impressed me.
Close up
Close up
After touring Elizabeth Fort, we made a loop of the outside of the walls of the fort, and found this.Recognizeable faces.What? It’s a cat!
We continued our circle around the fort, and Tara stopped to photograph an eye in a triangle. I moved a trash bin and found the rest of it.
Something significant is going on here. [photo by Tara McMullen]More bones on the wall. I can’t tell if those little fish are shooting backward, or blowing out in advance of their movement.I’m not sure what the technique is that makes graffiti look like black and white photographs.Heron flies off into the lights.
We wandered into a city park and found more graffiti that matched the style of the “Dublin” one at the top. Possibly the same political activist.
On the left: “My brother knows Karl Marx. Met him eating mushrooms in the People’s Park.” On the right: “Willkommen. The People’s Republic of Cork.” [photo by Tara McMullen]Ziggy’s Rock and Blues Bar.“The Artist Beyond Control.”
A nice message to end with: “Love yourself.” [photo by Tara McMullen]This collection catches my attention because these are all merely the artworks we haphazardly stumbled across while seeing the other sites. We were not looking for street art, and it was everywhere.
It does. It’s the city telling a visitor what is truly important about it. I’d hate to go somewhere without knowing the language for I wouldn’t understand the walls.
An excellent collection, including a lovely photo of Tara
Glad you and Tara got in some graffiti/wall art, Crystal. I think Cork would be one of my favorite towns as well. And, like you, I was impressed with detailed body art. –Curt
You know Curt, with the way you are drawn to characters, I think you are right that you would like Cork. Cork’s small physical size belies its big spirit!
Conscious Engagement 
Great art. Thanks for sharing Crystal
We certainly enjoyed it. Glad you did too. Thanks!
Oh yes, fascinating! I’d have eyes for all that too. Marx would make me happy. 🙂 And those bones! Incredible!
Tara was excited about Marx, ha ha. I’m not sure why I love street art so much, but it makes every city into a kind of museum, doesn’t it?
It does. It’s the city telling a visitor what is truly important about it. I’d hate to go somewhere without knowing the language for I wouldn’t understand the walls.
An excellent collection, including a lovely photo of Tara
Aw, thank you Derrick. I think it’s a great photo of Tara, too.
Glad you and Tara got in some graffiti/wall art, Crystal. I think Cork would be one of my favorite towns as well. And, like you, I was impressed with detailed body art. –Curt
You know Curt, with the way you are drawn to characters, I think you are right that you would like Cork. Cork’s small physical size belies its big spirit!