1:14:39 > 1:14:40Hello and welcome.
1:14:40 > 1:14:43All the cultural craic we can fit into half an hour,
1:14:43 > 1:14:45and this is what's coming up
1:14:45 > 1:14:46in the next 30 minutes.
1:14:46 > 1:14:47Do not touch that zapper.
1:14:47 > 1:14:50Coming up, comic and cartoonist
1:14:50 > 1:14:51Phill Jupitus channels
1:14:51 > 1:14:53his inner Michelangelo.
1:14:53 > 1:14:55Irish director Neil Jordan
1:14:55 > 1:14:57on Cruise, Pitt, Rea
1:14:57 > 1:14:59and why nobody believes he is also a writer.
1:14:59 > 1:15:02Not a wig or a fake tan in sight -
1:15:02 > 1:15:05the former Riverdancer taking Irish dance a step further.
1:15:05 > 1:15:07And a design for life -
1:15:07 > 1:15:09cutting and splicing pop culture
1:15:09 > 1:15:11and politics onto the one page.
1:15:11 > 1:15:13But first, the art that blew the mind
1:15:13 > 1:15:16of the one and only Sir Bob Geldof.
1:15:17 > 1:15:19CHEERING
1:15:20 > 1:15:23The first music that electrified me
1:15:23 > 1:15:25was the Rolling Stones.
1:15:26 > 1:15:29I saw the Beatles and the Stones and Dylan
1:15:29 > 1:15:33in the same year, in the Adelphi Cinema in Dublin.
1:15:36 > 1:15:40I just wanted to be in that gang, you know? They were a gang.
1:15:40 > 1:15:43And also, their attitude, you know?
1:15:43 > 1:15:47That sort of insolence, I really liked.
1:15:49 > 1:15:51Coming into my teens, I was,
1:15:51 > 1:15:54of course, you know, a sort of...an existentialist,
1:15:54 > 1:15:57of course, as only teens can possibly be.
1:15:57 > 1:15:59But I did like those books.
1:15:59 > 1:16:03I know it sounds wanky, but I'm not trying to be...
1:16:03 > 1:16:05I had them, they were around, so...
1:16:05 > 1:16:07One I remember that vividly was
1:16:07 > 1:16:12A Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich by Solzhenitsyn.
1:16:12 > 1:16:15In fact, I think he pitches up in one of the Rats' songs.
1:16:15 > 1:16:19So...those...
1:16:19 > 1:16:22Yeah, they really, um...
1:16:23 > 1:16:28..made much more of an impact than any other thing except music.
1:16:30 > 1:16:34Films that have really made me think
1:16:34 > 1:16:37are standards like Apocalypse Now.
1:16:37 > 1:16:40In fact, I think the Rats were on tour in Canada.
1:16:40 > 1:16:42We had a night off
1:16:42 > 1:16:44and we were in Edmonton and we saw it,
1:16:44 > 1:16:47I think, the first week it came out,
1:16:47 > 1:16:49and I remember coming out of the cinema
1:16:49 > 1:16:51and all of us were silent
1:16:51 > 1:16:55and a row started amongst us and, like, it was almost a punch-up.
1:16:55 > 1:16:56There was that much tension,
1:16:56 > 1:16:59coming out of the...out of that film.
1:16:59 > 1:17:01You know, like everybody else, so many great films,
1:17:01 > 1:17:04so many books, so many songs, you know?
1:17:04 > 1:17:05It's hard to pick.
1:17:07 > 1:17:09Luckily, I had three priests
1:17:09 > 1:17:10in a row in school
1:17:10 > 1:17:12who could actually read poetry,
1:17:12 > 1:17:13properly read poetry, as opposed to...
1:17:13 > 1:17:15- MONOTONE:- "I wandered lonely as a cloud...
1:17:15 > 1:17:20They read it and it seemed to make...huge sense to me,
1:17:20 > 1:17:22in the same way that rock and roll did.
1:17:22 > 1:17:25And so when one of the priests,
1:17:25 > 1:17:28we had to do Paradise Lost, Milton's Paradise Lost,
1:17:28 > 1:17:32and he read it, and it just blew me away,
1:17:32 > 1:17:34cos it's kind of difficult English, but beautiful.
1:17:34 > 1:17:40When he explained that, you know, Satan was equal to God
1:17:40 > 1:17:42and he challenged him and God said,
1:17:42 > 1:17:44"I don't think so, dude, kneel down."
1:17:44 > 1:17:47"Kneel down? I don't think so!"
1:17:47 > 1:17:52So here, you've got this kid, me, our era of this music,
1:17:52 > 1:17:56just saying, "Authority? I don't think so."
1:17:59 > 1:18:05And the Boomtown Rats play the Mandela Hall on March 24th.
1:18:05 > 1:18:07Well, he may not like Mondays,
1:18:07 > 1:18:09but he certainly never minded the Buzzcocks.
1:18:09 > 1:18:12Phill Jupitus is an actor and comedian,
1:18:12 > 1:18:15but he is also a cartoonist.
1:18:15 > 1:18:16Welcome to the Ulster Museum.
1:18:16 > 1:18:19- Hello. - With a passion for drawing.
1:18:19 > 1:18:23Yeah. I mean, picked the right exhibition as well, haven't we?
1:18:23 > 1:18:26Rather than finished work, we're here with Lines Of Thought.
1:18:26 > 1:18:29Which is who... I mean, this is basically...
1:18:29 > 1:18:31We need to stress how unique this exhibition is.
1:18:31 > 1:18:34Ulster Museum is only one of three venues
1:18:34 > 1:18:37that this British Museum touring exhibition is coming to.
1:18:37 > 1:18:39It's finished here - saved the best till last.
1:18:39 > 1:18:42Two hot months, kids. Get down here, fast.
1:18:42 > 1:18:43And who's here?
1:18:43 > 1:18:45Who's here?
1:18:45 > 1:18:46Me.
1:18:46 > 1:18:48- Oh, no, you mean the drawings? - The drawings, yeah.- Sorry.
1:18:48 > 1:18:51We've got Rembrandt over there. We've got some Leonardo da Vinci.
1:18:51 > 1:18:53We've got some Michelangelo.
1:18:53 > 1:18:56There is a David Hockney, Barbara Hepworth...
1:18:56 > 1:18:58Can I get a "Barbara Hepworth" in the house?
1:19:08 > 1:19:10This is the most impressive single room of art
1:19:10 > 1:19:14I think I've ever been in in my life, and I, madam, am 54.
1:19:14 > 1:19:16I've seen a lot of rooms full of art -
1:19:16 > 1:19:19some great ones, some brilliant ones -
1:19:19 > 1:19:20and this is the best.
1:19:24 > 1:19:27The great myth about art is that it's some...
1:19:27 > 1:19:30It's like magic, it's some sort of ability, and they just...
1:19:30 > 1:19:32- HE BLOWS RASPBERRY - And it's on the page and it's done,
1:19:32 > 1:19:34but it's not. There's a lot of...
1:19:34 > 1:19:37A lot of "agh" goes into creating art.
1:19:37 > 1:19:39A lot of thought and torture.
1:19:39 > 1:19:42What you're seeing on the wall is ideas, sort of, in motion,
1:19:42 > 1:19:43as it were.
1:19:45 > 1:19:47You are sketching as well.
1:19:47 > 1:19:49- Yeah.- But on an iPad.
1:19:49 > 1:19:51What are you seeing, then? What are you taking in?
1:19:51 > 1:19:54What you're doing is you're engaging with a piece of work
1:19:54 > 1:19:57for an extended period of time, and so you're seeing brushstrokes,
1:19:57 > 1:20:02you're seeing detail, you're seeing composition,
1:20:02 > 1:20:05but you're...you're then replicating them,
1:20:05 > 1:20:07and so in the replication,
1:20:07 > 1:20:09I think there's an extra layer of...
1:20:10 > 1:20:12..of information, if not comprehension.
1:20:12 > 1:20:16I think you are certainly seeing more and you're seeing deeper.
1:20:20 > 1:20:23It was brilliant when I arrived today, and this was, sort of,
1:20:23 > 1:20:24the opening day of the exhibition.
1:20:24 > 1:20:26There were about eight people drawing the stuff that
1:20:26 > 1:20:28was on the wall, which was very gratifying to see,
1:20:28 > 1:20:30that that's the way people react to this stuff,
1:20:30 > 1:20:33to copy what other artists were doing.
1:20:33 > 1:20:35But you're not formally trained as an artist.
1:20:35 > 1:20:37You didn't go to art school or any of this.
1:20:37 > 1:20:38- No.- Suddenly...- None of it.
1:20:38 > 1:20:40But you can see your passion.
1:20:40 > 1:20:41The thing is when I'm doing it in galleries,
1:20:41 > 1:20:44'and people are welcome to come and chat to me when I do it,
1:20:44 > 1:20:46'I do it at the Edinburgh Festival every year
1:20:46 > 1:20:48'and I started doing it there for two reasons -
1:20:48 > 1:20:51'first, because...what a brilliant way to start your day,
1:20:51 > 1:20:54'to spend two hours with a beautiful piece of art,
1:20:54 > 1:20:56'just drawing, you know?
1:20:56 > 1:20:59'It's a very restful, kind of, zen start to your day.'
1:20:59 > 1:21:02And the other reason was it stopped me going out drinking at night.
1:21:02 > 1:21:05If I knew I had to be up at eight o'clock and in a gallery by nine,
1:21:05 > 1:21:06you can't go out on the lash.
1:21:06 > 1:21:08So that was my...
1:21:08 > 1:21:14It's more of a self-control system that benefits me cerebrally.
1:21:14 > 1:21:19Can you choose a favourite out of all that are on the walls here?
1:21:19 > 1:21:21What happened yesterday, when I first came,
1:21:21 > 1:21:24was I kind of did this, sort of, weird crab walk,
1:21:24 > 1:21:27where I was going sideways, so I wasn't polluting myself
1:21:27 > 1:21:29by seeing what was coming,
1:21:29 > 1:21:33so I was going sideways around, and I kept going...
1:21:33 > 1:21:34When you're going from, like,
1:21:34 > 1:21:37a Bridget Riley to a Michelangelo, you just...
1:21:37 > 1:21:38- HE GASPS - You can't believe...
1:21:38 > 1:21:40You know, and it's over by the Seurat,
1:21:40 > 1:21:42the David Hockneys by the Seurat,
1:21:42 > 1:21:43- It's that... - HE GASPS
1:21:43 > 1:21:46That kept happening. But a favourite here,
1:21:46 > 1:21:49there is Leonardo's drawing of Christ with a cat.
1:21:49 > 1:21:52There is a frame of him holding the cat, the cat is quite playful,
1:21:52 > 1:21:55but then there is one above it of Jesus holding a cat,
1:21:55 > 1:21:57and the cat is trying...
1:21:57 > 1:22:00But it's a still drawing, but this cat is all over the shop.
1:22:00 > 1:22:05- You can feel that.- Yeah, yeah. It's just, it's just...
1:22:05 > 1:22:07That Leonardo cartoon, I never laughed at that,
1:22:07 > 1:22:09but that cat drawing, that's funny.
1:22:09 > 1:22:10That's how far ahead of his time he was.
1:22:10 > 1:22:14He knew that that's what people would look at on YouTube.
1:22:14 > 1:22:16He just does cat drawings. That's... What he does is...
1:22:16 > 1:22:18If you really want stuff to take off,
1:22:18 > 1:22:19that was it - pop a cat in it.
1:22:19 > 1:22:21I mean, people now are Photoshopping
1:22:21 > 1:22:23cats into the Last Supper.
1:22:23 > 1:22:25THEY LAUGH
1:22:25 > 1:22:27Phill Jupitus, it has been a pleasure.
1:22:27 > 1:22:30- Thank you.- Yes, thank you.
1:22:30 > 1:22:33And if Phill's sketches have got you creatively curious,
1:22:33 > 1:22:37and you fancy getting busy with a brush yourself,
1:22:37 > 1:22:40don't be shy - you too can get creative
1:22:40 > 1:22:42on Saturday, April 8th,
1:22:42 > 1:22:44from stitching in Strabane
1:22:44 > 1:22:46to painting pots in Portstewart,
1:22:46 > 1:22:48there are events happening
1:22:48 > 1:22:49right across Northern Ireland,
1:22:49 > 1:22:51with the main events happening
1:22:51 > 1:22:54in the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry/Londonderry
1:22:54 > 1:22:56and right here in the Ulster Museum.
1:23:04 > 1:23:06Our next guest is probably best known
1:23:06 > 1:23:09as one of Ireland's foremost movie directors,
1:23:09 > 1:23:12the man behind titles such as Interview With The Vampire,
1:23:12 > 1:23:15The Crying Game, Michael Collins,
1:23:15 > 1:23:17The Company Of Wolves and Mona Lisa.
1:23:17 > 1:23:19Neil Jordan, however, has also enjoyed
1:23:19 > 1:23:22a long and successful career as a writer,
1:23:22 > 1:23:24predating his directing days,
1:23:24 > 1:23:27with titles including The Drowned Detective,
1:23:27 > 1:23:29Mistaken and Night In Tunisia.
1:23:29 > 1:23:31His latest novel Carnivalesque,
1:23:31 > 1:23:35a dark coming-of-age tale set in a supernatural circus,
1:23:35 > 1:23:36is out now.
1:23:36 > 1:23:39- Neil Jordan, you are very welcome to The Arts Show.- Thank you.
1:23:39 > 1:23:42Carnivalesque - where did that idea come from?
1:23:42 > 1:23:44For a long time, I'd been thinking about making a movie about
1:23:44 > 1:23:47a carnival or a circus
1:23:47 > 1:23:52that had supernatural abilities, you know?
1:23:52 > 1:23:56So they actually had to hide their physical, kind of, talents.
1:23:56 > 1:23:57They had to hide the fact that
1:23:57 > 1:24:00they didn't have to obey physical laws, you know?
1:24:00 > 1:24:03I was wondering, were these people from space or where were they from?
1:24:03 > 1:24:06Were they from another planet? You know, that kind of thing.
1:24:06 > 1:24:08So I just began to write the story.
1:24:08 > 1:24:11I've always wanted to write a piece of total fantasy, you know,
1:24:11 > 1:24:15set in...you know, in an Irish context,
1:24:15 > 1:24:20and in the context of the spooky stories
1:24:20 > 1:24:21my father used to tell me.
1:24:21 > 1:24:24But that idea of the pookas and the banshees and...
1:24:24 > 1:24:29Yeah, the idea of actually a race of people that took advantage
1:24:29 > 1:24:31of all these bloody legends, know what I mean?
1:24:31 > 1:24:33The more I explored it, the more, you know...
1:24:33 > 1:24:35The more complicated and more interesting it became, really.
1:24:35 > 1:24:36So why is...
1:24:36 > 1:24:40Because you've almost got, like, a dual life, you know?
1:24:40 > 1:24:42You're Neil Jordan, the fiction writer.
1:24:42 > 1:24:46- Mm.- And you're also Neil Jordan, the screenwriter and director.
1:24:46 > 1:24:49- Mm.- Do you see them as a dual identity? Or...?
1:24:49 > 1:24:53No, they're both... I mean, I don't know how...
1:24:53 > 1:24:57If you do the kind of thing I do, it's silly not to do something else.
1:24:57 > 1:24:58It's just...
1:24:58 > 1:25:01A lot of film directors work in the theatre, you know?
1:25:01 > 1:25:03And a lot of film directors like Martin Scorsese
1:25:03 > 1:25:07work...does magnificent documentary work and stuff like that.
1:25:07 > 1:25:09It just happens that I come from Ireland
1:25:09 > 1:25:12and come from a literary tradition and background,
1:25:12 > 1:25:13and that's what I started doing, you know?
1:25:13 > 1:25:15So, do you see a difference in the two roles?
1:25:15 > 1:25:18- Or do you see yourself as...? - As a film-maker and a novelist.
1:25:18 > 1:25:19A film-maker and a novelist.
1:25:19 > 1:25:21Or are you a storyteller, first and foremost?
1:25:21 > 1:25:24I don't really. But it's just because...
1:25:24 > 1:25:27I never thought I would get to make films, you know what I mean?
1:25:27 > 1:25:29Well, if you think back to the '70s, I mean,
1:25:29 > 1:25:32Irish people didn't make movies, you know? They just didn't.
1:25:32 > 1:25:33There was no Irish cinema,
1:25:33 > 1:25:35and it was only when I started to write movies
1:25:35 > 1:25:38and when I met John Boorman, actually,
1:25:38 > 1:25:41and began to work with him on Excalibur
1:25:41 > 1:25:44and another script or two that we wrote together,
1:25:44 > 1:25:46that I began to see that it's possible
1:25:46 > 1:25:49for someone like me to perhaps do this kind of thing.
1:25:51 > 1:25:55Jordan began his directing career on the self-penned Angel in 1982 -
1:25:55 > 1:25:59a story about a musician played by a young Stephen Rea
1:25:59 > 1:26:02who witnesses a murder and tracks down the killers.
1:26:02 > 1:26:03Come on, come on!
1:26:03 > 1:26:06So, Angel comes along then, and you've written it and...
1:26:06 > 1:26:07Well, I wrote Angel, yeah.
1:26:07 > 1:26:11A wrote the script for Angel and, for some reason,
1:26:11 > 1:26:13they let me direct that movie.
1:26:13 > 1:26:15It was kind of a terrifying experience,
1:26:15 > 1:26:18but I had a great cameraman, Chris Menges, and...
1:26:19 > 1:26:22I hadn't got a clue about how cameras worked
1:26:22 > 1:26:24or anything like that, you know what I mean?
1:26:24 > 1:26:26But I had a very clear vision in my mind
1:26:26 > 1:26:28about what I wanted to see.
1:26:28 > 1:26:32I just wanted to present this series of murders and killings
1:26:32 > 1:26:37and the attraction of...the horrible attraction of that kind of thing
1:26:37 > 1:26:38in the barest...
1:26:38 > 1:26:40Without any explanations whatsoever, you know?
1:26:40 > 1:26:44So I made this rather strange and spare movie
1:26:44 > 1:26:45and people liked it, you know?
1:26:45 > 1:26:48And it got quite a bit of acclaim.
1:26:48 > 1:26:51Was that the first time you'd worked with Stephen Rea?
1:26:51 > 1:26:52Yeah, it was, yeah.
1:26:52 > 1:26:57I'd seen Stephen in the Abbey, in a play that was actually
1:26:57 > 1:26:58directed by Jim Sheridan,
1:26:58 > 1:27:00called The Blue Macushla written by Tom Murphy.
1:27:00 > 1:27:03And he was really cool and I thought, "This guy is good."
1:27:03 > 1:27:07So when I did Angel, I asked him to act in it, and, you know,
1:27:07 > 1:27:10we developed a relationship after that.
1:27:10 > 1:27:11This relationship would continue
1:27:11 > 1:27:14with one of Jordan's biggest international successes,
1:27:14 > 1:27:16The Crying Game, for which he won
1:27:16 > 1:27:20the Oscar for Best Screenplay in 1992.
1:27:20 > 1:27:24It's recently celebrated its 25th year.
1:27:24 > 1:27:28Does that surprise you, that it still stands the test of time?
1:27:28 > 1:27:30I rarely watch the films that I do,
1:27:30 > 1:27:34but BFI brought out a beautifully restored version of it, actually.
1:27:34 > 1:27:39I watched it in the BFI and it was cool, really good.
1:27:39 > 1:27:44It's stood the test of time, except there is far more awareness,
1:27:44 > 1:27:47now, of gender issues and...
1:27:47 > 1:27:48Transgender, yeah.
1:27:48 > 1:27:52The success of The Crying Game led to Jordan being offered
1:27:52 > 1:27:55one of the biggest directing gigs in Hollywood at the time -
1:27:55 > 1:27:58the movie adaptation of Anne Rice's novel
1:27:58 > 1:28:02Interview With The Vampire, starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
1:28:02 > 1:28:04Were you making it for a market?
1:28:04 > 1:28:06I mean, did you suddenly find yourself...?
1:28:06 > 1:28:07I was making it for my friends.
1:28:07 > 1:28:10I said, "I'll make it if you allow me to make it
1:28:10 > 1:28:11"as an independent movie."
1:28:11 > 1:28:15And they said yes, you know? So I said, "OK, I'll do that".
1:28:15 > 1:28:18You know... So, it was a big, huge thing.
1:28:18 > 1:28:20What, 70 million movie?
1:28:20 > 1:28:23But there was no interference whatsoever, you know?
1:28:23 > 1:28:24It was extraordinary.
1:28:24 > 1:28:26Particularly with the stars that they're giving you.
1:28:26 > 1:28:28I mean, they are handing you Tom Cruise...
1:28:28 > 1:28:30Or are they handing you Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt?
1:28:30 > 1:28:32Or are you still having to say,
1:28:32 > 1:28:34"Look, I want them to audition for these roles"?
1:28:34 > 1:28:38Oh, no. Oh, you don't ask Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt to audition for roles.
1:28:38 > 1:28:39No, you don't.
1:28:39 > 1:28:42Maybe if you're Stanley Kubrick, you do, or you did.
1:28:42 > 1:28:43But no, no, no.
1:28:43 > 1:28:45No, Tom expressed interest in the role.
1:28:45 > 1:28:46I went out to meet him.
1:28:46 > 1:28:49I mean, Brad was attached.
1:28:49 > 1:28:52At the time, they wanted Daniel Day Lewis
1:28:52 > 1:28:53to play Tom Cruise's role.
1:28:53 > 1:28:56And I said, "Look, there is no way Mr Lewis, Daniel,
1:28:56 > 1:28:58"is going to play this role."
1:28:58 > 1:29:01Cos he would never survive six months in a coffin anyway,
1:29:01 > 1:29:03cos that's what he does, you know?
1:29:03 > 1:29:05- Method acting.- But I went to meet Tom and I thought,
1:29:05 > 1:29:09he's got a really interesting character for this...
1:29:09 > 1:29:11He's got a really interesting quality, you know?
1:29:11 > 1:29:12And the description,
1:29:12 > 1:29:17the kind of character description that Anne Rice had given of Lestat,
1:29:17 > 1:29:20was almost like the description of a star, you know,
1:29:20 > 1:29:24who is at a certain remove from life, and stuff like that.
1:29:24 > 1:29:28I just thought Tom... I've always liked Tom as an actor, you know?
1:29:28 > 1:29:31And I thought he'd be great, you know?
1:29:31 > 1:29:35But I was dealing with Tom and Brad and they were kind of interesting,
1:29:35 > 1:29:40that was interesting, but I was let make the movie I wanted to make.
1:29:41 > 1:29:44The global success of the movie empowered Jordan
1:29:44 > 1:29:48to follow it up with a long-cherished personal project -
1:29:48 > 1:29:52his self-penned biopic of Michael Collins starring Liam Neeson.
1:29:52 > 1:29:56Other major talent he's directed include Robert De Niro and Sean Penn
1:29:56 > 1:29:57and Cillian Murphy.
1:29:59 > 1:30:02He's recently branched into long-form big budget TV drama
1:30:02 > 1:30:05with yet another self-penned project, the Borgias,
1:30:05 > 1:30:06starring Jeremy Irons.
1:30:08 > 1:30:12Does it rankle with you that Neil Jordan the novelist
1:30:12 > 1:30:16- never gets as big a profile...- No... - ..as Neil Jordan the film director?
1:30:16 > 1:30:20Well, it's just... It's something I don't fully understand. It's...
1:30:20 > 1:30:24You know, people just are surprised that I ever...
1:30:24 > 1:30:27you know, that I ever wrote novels, you know?
1:30:27 > 1:30:29It's just the way things are. Nothing I can do about it, you know?
1:30:29 > 1:30:32- Neil Jordan, it has been a pleasure talking to you.- OK.
1:30:32 > 1:30:35- Thank you so much. - Thank you. Thank you very much.
1:30:37 > 1:30:41Whether it be his trademark mashup of images and text,
1:30:41 > 1:30:45political commentary or, here, covering 27 metres of hoarding
1:30:45 > 1:30:48in the Botanic Gardens while restoration work is carried out,
1:30:48 > 1:30:51Belfast-based illustrator Peter Strain
1:30:51 > 1:30:55is making a massive impact in the world of illustration.
1:30:55 > 1:30:58We thought we would catch up with him while we still can.
1:31:02 > 1:31:05Illustration kind of does always fall in between
1:31:05 > 1:31:08the fine art world and the graphic design world.
1:31:08 > 1:31:11Words and images have always been really interesting to me,
1:31:11 > 1:31:13so I try and find a way of merging the two,
1:31:13 > 1:31:17in, you know, hopefully quite an original way.
1:31:18 > 1:31:24# I've been awake for so long now
1:31:25 > 1:31:28# Just can't get to sleep... #
1:31:28 > 1:31:31At its best, illustration does help us,
1:31:31 > 1:31:32kind of, comprehend the world around us.
1:31:32 > 1:31:34You know, it tries to...
1:31:34 > 1:31:36It tries to make sense of...
1:31:38 > 1:31:43You know, a chaos of information, it's trying to make sense of.
1:31:50 > 1:31:53Big fan of Conor O'Brien, and his...
1:31:53 > 1:31:56you know, his band, the Villagers.
1:31:56 > 1:31:58I was lucky enough to be asked to make
1:31:58 > 1:32:01a cover sleeve for the live album,
1:32:01 > 1:32:04which, a lot of that was to do with some homophobic experiences
1:32:04 > 1:32:07Conor had before,
1:32:07 > 1:32:10and I kind of wanted this artwork to sort of reflect that
1:32:10 > 1:32:12in some ways, but kind of in a...
1:32:12 > 1:32:14you know, a little bit, sort of, not really in-your-face.
1:32:14 > 1:32:20So, the idea is, this guy has been chased up to his wits' end,
1:32:20 > 1:32:23and kind of like, a fight or flight kind of thing -
1:32:23 > 1:32:26you know, you either stand up to somebody
1:32:26 > 1:32:29or you give in to the type of thing that they're...
1:32:29 > 1:32:32You know, whatever they're, kind of, accusing you of, or whatever,
1:32:32 > 1:32:35you can either make your stand or fall back,
1:32:35 > 1:32:38so, the kind of idea of this character
1:32:38 > 1:32:39is that he's taken that leap
1:32:39 > 1:32:43and, you know, it's kind of worked out for the best.
1:32:43 > 1:32:46He hasn't, sort of, plummeted, he's soared.
1:32:46 > 1:32:48# Oh, Lord
1:32:48 > 1:32:53# A hot, scary summer... #
1:32:53 > 1:32:55A fine artist doesn't necessarily
1:32:55 > 1:32:58have to communicate a specific message,
1:32:58 > 1:33:03whereas, more often than not, illustration does have to do that.
1:33:03 > 1:33:05It has to, kind of, articulate something -
1:33:05 > 1:33:06it has to communicate something.
1:33:13 > 1:33:17With what's, kind of, happened with Brexit,
1:33:17 > 1:33:20and what's happening with Donald Trump and things in the States,
1:33:20 > 1:33:23you can see a lot of people reacting and using illustration
1:33:23 > 1:33:28as, kind of, a medium to get their ideas and thoughts out there.
1:33:29 > 1:33:33With Shepard Fairey's Hope poster design for Obama,
1:33:33 > 1:33:36that was something that he made independently.
1:33:36 > 1:33:40It wasn't commissioned by any advisers or anything like that.
1:33:40 > 1:33:44That was something that was made, and then it became this big symbol.
1:33:44 > 1:33:48That style of imagery became iconic even overnight.
1:33:48 > 1:33:50Certainly, somebody who's working a lot now,
1:33:50 > 1:33:55and people are really loving the style, is Noma Bar, who does...
1:33:55 > 1:34:00very, very simplistic kind of vector drawings,
1:34:00 > 1:34:02using maybe two or three, kind of, icons
1:34:02 > 1:34:05and then making them into something new.
1:34:07 > 1:34:10That stuff is really, really fantastic.
1:34:10 > 1:34:12I suppose, style-wise,
1:34:12 > 1:34:15maybe, my work can be a little bit more intricate and things,
1:34:15 > 1:34:17but the same sort of principles apply,
1:34:17 > 1:34:20of trying to only really use what's necessary to get a point across.
1:34:25 > 1:34:28The work with the QFT came about...
1:34:28 > 1:34:30I made about seven or eight of those,
1:34:30 > 1:34:32just based on films that I like,
1:34:32 > 1:34:36things that I thought would, kind of, suit my style and tone,
1:34:36 > 1:34:38and a lot of that has then
1:34:38 > 1:34:40kind of filtered into the work that I do now -
1:34:40 > 1:34:43for example, using type to make up body shapes and things -
1:34:43 > 1:34:48that was all, kind of, figured out when making those posters.
1:34:50 > 1:34:53The portraits of the words and things either built into the body
1:34:53 > 1:34:56or placed around it, within the negative space,
1:34:56 > 1:34:59I think that, kind of, serves a nice purpose
1:34:59 > 1:35:03of A, having a portrait done in that kind of style,
1:35:03 > 1:35:06but then, also, the words kind of give it
1:35:06 > 1:35:09that extra little bit of meaning to it, maybe, or...
1:35:09 > 1:35:11You can kind of pepper words around,
1:35:11 > 1:35:14and kind of make it even more ambiguous, as well,
1:35:14 > 1:35:16so, you can kind of have that dual effect,
1:35:16 > 1:35:18dependent on what it's going to be used for.
1:35:19 > 1:35:22One of the things I always try to do as much as possible
1:35:22 > 1:35:26is to have a really strong sense of a composition and space.
1:35:26 > 1:35:31So, if at all possible, I like to have a lot of white space,
1:35:31 > 1:35:34or blank space in and around,
1:35:34 > 1:35:39so that the visual information is, kind of, contained within something,
1:35:39 > 1:35:43cos then you, kind of, have a hierarchy of graphics
1:35:43 > 1:35:44that are working,
1:35:44 > 1:35:49and I think that, kind of, makes for a lot more compelling piece.
1:35:53 > 1:35:55There's a lot of visual information out there,
1:35:55 > 1:35:58and there is always going to be kind of an overlap, I guess.
1:35:58 > 1:36:02I suppose the key thing for any illustrator or artist, I guess,
1:36:02 > 1:36:07is to try and put as much of your own personality into the work
1:36:07 > 1:36:10as you possibly can, and then at least that element
1:36:10 > 1:36:12certainly can't be replicated in any way.
1:36:19 > 1:36:20The Waterworks Park.
1:36:22 > 1:36:27What do I bring home from the Waterworks Park where I walk daily?
1:36:27 > 1:36:29The same as I leave behind.
1:36:32 > 1:36:34Voices of waterfowl with a lot to say,
1:36:34 > 1:36:37all of it in the original.
1:36:38 > 1:36:41The way water lies always at the right level.
1:36:42 > 1:36:45The heron, because of his presence -
1:36:45 > 1:36:47the heron because of his absence.
1:36:48 > 1:36:50The fishing club,
1:36:50 > 1:36:54camouflaged in their little tents like a territorial army.
1:36:54 > 1:36:59The half-flight of swans dragging their feet in the water.
1:37:00 > 1:37:04The children pitching crusts into the dangerous storm of rings.
1:37:06 > 1:37:10The undisturbable silence of the football stadium between matches.
1:37:11 > 1:37:14The freewheeling of the Milewater stream
1:37:14 > 1:37:16towards its modest white-water tumble.
1:37:18 > 1:37:22The flattest sound in the universe - the slap of joggers' feet.
1:37:22 > 1:37:25The voices of immigrant women
1:37:25 > 1:37:28pushing their prams through a new country.
1:37:29 > 1:37:33The waterlilies, the bulrushes, the greening sedge.
1:37:34 > 1:37:39The thought of how one place can furnish your head and your heart.
1:37:40 > 1:37:44Once more I embark on the half-hour voyage in a circle -
1:37:44 > 1:37:46the inexhaustible mile.
1:37:51 > 1:37:56When the mighty jiggernaut that is Riverdance
1:37:56 > 1:37:59exploded onto the world stage in the mid-1990s,
1:37:59 > 1:38:02it changed the face of Irish dance forever -
1:38:02 > 1:38:05and now, one of its former principal dancers
1:38:05 > 1:38:09is challenging what we think we know about this art form.
1:38:16 > 1:38:19Contemporary dance is misunderstood.
1:38:19 > 1:38:23There is a mystique around it that isn't necessary.
1:38:23 > 1:38:27Perhaps the dancers, or the dance-makers themselves,
1:38:27 > 1:38:30in some way make it inaccessible -
1:38:30 > 1:38:31and I wish, in a way,
1:38:31 > 1:38:33that we would do that less and less.
1:38:44 > 1:38:47Movement is very, very powerful,
1:38:47 > 1:38:51and if you can frame it in some sort of theatrical setting,
1:38:51 > 1:38:55it can have a huge, provocative impact on the observer.
1:38:56 > 1:38:59So, people talk about when you engage with dance,
1:38:59 > 1:39:02is there something you should understand?
1:39:02 > 1:39:05and I keep saying, "It's not a puzzle that we work out."
1:39:05 > 1:39:07It is abstract.
1:39:17 > 1:39:21I'm not meant to try to categorise this.
1:39:21 > 1:39:24It's about its impact on me.
1:39:28 > 1:39:31I didn't initially set out to be a dancer.
1:39:31 > 1:39:34In fact, when I was going to dancing class,
1:39:34 > 1:39:37there wasn't really an option to have a career in Irish dance,
1:39:37 > 1:39:40but then Riverdance came along in '94...
1:39:52 > 1:39:54..which eventually led on to a show,
1:39:54 > 1:39:58and that's when my professional life as a dancer took off.
1:40:07 > 1:40:10In 2003, I retired from dancing.
1:40:10 > 1:40:12I left a very commercial world,
1:40:12 > 1:40:16and then I suddenly found myself in the contemporary arts platform.
1:40:17 > 1:40:19Sometimes something comes along,
1:40:19 > 1:40:21and you say you have to make this for you,
1:40:21 > 1:40:24and I knew that I had to dance for myself.
1:40:26 > 1:40:30Linger came about because myself and Breandan have worked together
1:40:30 > 1:40:32for a number of years.
1:40:32 > 1:40:37Our personal stories, outside of dance and outside of our careers...
1:40:37 > 1:40:40were quite similar - turned out to be quite similar.
1:40:42 > 1:40:46Coming from a very small village, being an Irish dancer,
1:40:46 > 1:40:50being an Irish speaker, being gay, all these things...
1:40:50 > 1:40:53made me feel kind of like...
1:40:53 > 1:40:57that I wasn't sure who I was to identify with.
1:40:57 > 1:41:01Linger... In the early sections of Linger,
1:41:01 > 1:41:05I try to address the idea of people constructing identities for you
1:41:05 > 1:41:09and projecting those identities on you, and you living up to that.
1:41:20 > 1:41:21Regardless of who you are,
1:41:21 > 1:41:24you resonate with whatever's unfolding on stage -
1:41:24 > 1:41:27but you'll come at it with your own history
1:41:27 > 1:41:28as you arrive in the room
1:41:28 > 1:41:32to consume this piece of art -
1:41:32 > 1:41:34but there are two dancers,
1:41:34 > 1:41:38two entities at different points of their lives.
1:42:00 > 1:42:04What we're doing with Linger is quite new and exciting,
1:42:04 > 1:42:07and a new movement within Irish dance.
1:42:20 > 1:42:22Hopefully, within 20 years,
1:42:22 > 1:42:25it may have moved on to the next level.
1:42:41 > 1:42:46The form itself has so much dramatic and poetic potential
1:42:46 > 1:42:48to look outside of the box
1:42:48 > 1:42:52and not follow the presentation formats of the past -
1:42:52 > 1:42:55just explore all the options.
1:42:59 > 1:43:01And that's it from The Arts Show.
1:43:01 > 1:43:05Do stay in touch with us - @bbcartshow on Twitter, and online
1:43:05 > 1:43:08on the BBC Northern Ireland Arts home page.
1:43:08 > 1:43:10There's loads to see and hear,
1:43:10 > 1:43:12and, of course, we're on BBC Radio Ulster
1:43:12 > 1:43:16Tuesdays to Fridays at 6.30, so, basically, you can't miss us.
1:43:16 > 1:43:18Until next month, bye-bye.