Brandon Steen - GORTA MOR - The Irish Diaspora in Toronto exhibition.
b'During the pandemic the artist admits he took strength in not only his ancestors surviving Gorta M\\xf3r in Ireland but all of the Irish peoples who survived; \\u201cif they navigated those atrocities surely, I can stay away from Covid and keep me and my wife Janie alive\\u201d. Between May and October of 1847 some 38,560 Irish arrived by coffin ships to Toronto. With this series his hope is to create dialogue using a little of this historical Toronto narrative of the Irish through his paintings. Considering Toronto then was merely populated by just less than 19,000 people. That level of immigration is astounding to which Brandon says \\u201cthat openness is what lies at the core of a Torontonian\\u201d. In GORTA M\\xd3R - The Irish Diaspora in Toronto, will see Brandon capture Toronto\\u2019s history in vivid detail, employing a natural crisp light to bring these paintings to life. As is true with all of his paintings this series will see a central animal as the protagonist. That animal will be the majestic Irish wolf from Irish Mythology. This beautiful wolf is the mythical Irish Queen named Morr\\xedgan and Brandon has painted her traversing Toronto through locations of great significance to the Irish in Toronto. Brandon says \\u201cI always imagine an animal as a central figure in my art but this is not just a wolf but an Irish Queen from the Tuatha D\\xe9 Danann people of ancient Ireland. She was also a shapeshifter, a protector of her people and bringer of death and victory. Something deeply relatable to those first Irish\\u201d'