Conall Ó Duibhir

Gaolach | Beloved is a small body of oil paintings that takes the figure of John the Evangelist as its focus. I have long been intrigued by the queerness of Jesus’ beloved disciple as represented within Christian art. The Evangelist gives open expression to vulnerability, grief and love in contrast to his stoic fellow disciples, and appears gender-fluid in many depictions. My paintings draw on Renaissance and Baroque portrayals of John the Evangelist, repositioning him—and his emotional life—as the protagonist of new compositions. By placing him in contemporary, domestic settings, I invite the viewer to reflect on what this archetypal figure might offer within their own lives.

The queering of John the Evangelist in Gaolach | Beloved reflects a broader interest in speculative art histories, principally in imagining a vibrant pictorial tradition in early modern Ireland that was never realised.