Ulster at the Crossroads

A mutilated figure attached to a wooden pole stands at a cross-roads. Twisted buildings surround him, some of which are derelict and have fallen into dis-repair. Half of the figure’s face displays a sense of normality and the other half is twisted. The eyes are dark and emotionless.

Jack Pakenham remarks ‘Over these years, I have tried to convey through a poetic language of metaphor, symbol, allegory and ambiguous narrative some of my concerns and anxieties, to use visual language to expose and comment.’

He feels an anger towards the destruction of Belfast’s cultural vibrancy in the early 1960’s by the start of the Troubles in 1969.