Event
Cork artist, Eugene O’Driscoll’s exhibition entitled In Bloom is on view in the Hospital Dining Room Gallery at Cork University Hospital from 2 – 31 July 2014. Organised in conjunction with Headway, the CUH Speech & Language Therapy department, and CUH Arts department, the exhibition charts the remarkable emergence of a unique creative talent following a stroke.
Sixty-four year old Eugene, known to family and friends as Owen, survived a stroke in 2010. As a result of his stroke, Owen continues to find talking difficult. To support his communication, he has begun to use painting as another way of expressing his feelings and thoughts.
A mechanic his entire adult life, Owen has, in the last two years discovered a talent and passion for painting that has lead him in an entirely different but very fulfilling creative direction. Painting has offered Owen a new lease of life.
The exhibition runs until the end of July. In Bloom is a celebration of life, captured in the colour and vibrancy Owen sees in the flowers grown by his wife Betty, in their garden. It is an exhibition not just of a remarkable talent, but is also a reminder that despite a traumatic event, there are always opportunities to develop new skills and ways to express oneself.
Owen has very kindly offered one of his paintings to the Speech and Language Therapy department in CUH. This painting will be displayed in the clinical room on the newly-opened Stroke Unit.
This exhibition is timely because Speech and Language Therapists in Ireland and internationally are involved with the International Communication Project 2014; a project developed to raise awareness of the importance of communication in all its forms. Details of these organisations can be found at www.headway.ie and www.iaslt.ie.
For further information contact Edelle Nolan, Arts Coordinator Cork University Hospital Campus on 021-4922055 or e-mail artscoord.cuh@hse.ie.