sing me to where silence weeps – Patrick Hickey

Late night opening: Thursday 15 January, 6–8:30pm

Exhibition dates: Thursday 15 January – 19 February, 2026

Sing to me where silence weeps continues the research and practice developed throughout my doctoral research at Ulster University (2019–25), exploring portrayals of men within Irish visual culture. In a Northern Irish context, depictions of men often appeared on gable walls in the form of murals. These murals typically depicted local histories or portrayed men as strong, virile freedom fighters, ready to fight and defend their communities. Similarly, within Irish art history, men are often cast as strong, masculine figures, either defending their land (which is often feminised) or engaging in masculine acts, such as fishing, to provide sustenance for their families and communities. Subverting prototypical visual tropes, such as the fisherman or men in boats, and framing them in heroic poses, enables a dialogue that reconsiders Irish masculinity and queer male desire.  

This exhibition is a vital exploration of queer desire in Northern Ireland, an opportunity to make visible the often-silenced stories of love, longing, and desire. Through the lens of contemporary painting, this exhibition invites both personal and collective reflection on the complexities of queer existence in a region shaped by history, politics and culture. Re-casting these typically heteronormative male figures through a queer framework, I am able to critique and explore masculinity and identity under crisis, revealing alternative possibilities for desire that these original narratives suppress. 

Throughout Northern Irish history, queer people have navigated the tension between visibility and invisibility, with queer identity often being shaped by the legacy of the Troubles. The lingering effects of the Troubles are still felt today, and queer Northern Irish people continue to navigate a path toward healing. Against a backdrop of sectarianism and moral conservatism, queer desire in Northern Ireland has often been framed as transgressive or subversive. This exhibition seeks to provide a nuanced exploration of identity, desire and the ongoing negotiation of public and private spaces for queer people in the region. 

The works exhibited explore the depiction of the male figure within landscape painting by reconfiguring a range of romanticised tropes found throughout traditional Irish painting, such as the classically idealised heroic forms of Irish mythological figures such as Cú Chulainn and Lugh. Stoic fishermen, dreamlike mountainous terrain and abstract seascapes have traditionally operated within my works as reoccurring, metaphorical motifs that expose the overlooked relationship between queer identity, desire and Irish art history.