Pen and ink on Bristol board | 2022 | A3

Memory
Stephen Hanrahan 

Description: Inspired by the ravens of the Norse god Odin, the ravens would attend battles and return with news of the war. The raven’s names translate to Thought and Memory. I imagine seeing wars across our history weighs on the mind of this bird tasked with remembering those wars.

In our modern world, our thoughts and memories are all bound up in our phones we are never more than a click away from seeing the horrors of war. We are more able to shed daylight on the atrocities that were once hidden and still feel powerless to stop them. Technologically makes us all witnesses. I think this has been a trend throughout history.
We had stories and myths like Ragnarok or the Iliad. Lee Millar’s photography of the Second World War, video on the news during the Yugoslav wars, and what we are now experiencing in Ukraine and Gaza - war is coming into a clearer view for everyone.


About the artist: Stephen Hanrahan is an amateur irish artist and cellist. Inspired by mythology from around the world. Much of his artwork follows queer themes and the stories he has read. His art largely digital sometimes uses other mediums including pencil, ink and oil painting.