James Adair: Using Any Means Necessary – 17 Claypath Contemporary Art Space – 26th Oct – 3rd Nov – Free

Using Any Means Necessary- A new Solo Exhibition by James Adair at Durham’s new Contemporary Arts Space. (Located In The former Durham City Council Housing Offices)

Using Any Means Necessary

James Adair is an Artist based in Durham city. Since 2010 he has used painting, montage and drawing to explore the conflict in Northern Ireland; a conflict euphemistically referred to as “The Troubles”.

Using Any Means Necessary is a selection of work from this period marking two milestones; the conclusion of this phase of Adair’s exploration and the centenary of “The Ulster Covenant”.

The Ulster Covenant Signed on the 28th of September 1912 by half a million people, including Adair’s Great Grandfather,was an act of defiance against the state, But it was no breakaway movement. On the contrary they wanted Ulster to remain part of the United Kingdom and were prepared in “… using all means which may be found necessary” to remain citizens of the United Kingdom.

This signing of the Covenant was a robust response to the conferral of home rule on what was then a unified Ireland. Within a decade of the signing, the British Government relented to the wishes of the majority of both the North and South, with Northern Ireland therein remaining part of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland gaining Independence.

The Northern Ireland we see now is one largely at peace. Adair however grew up in a turbulent Northern Ireland with thousands losing their lives in the complex conflict.This exhibition is a result of 3 years work for Adair and a century long journey for Ireland. It contains snapshots of times, places and people and is intended as an emotional and artistic representation of a history best described as “troubled”.

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