FMP - Artist Research - Lucy Fahey

FMP - Artist Research - Lucy Fahey

While doing my information research I came across an article that had illustrations by a woman named Lucy Fahey. Due to the article being by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) there isn't much information regarding the artist, I tried to find more information online but there wasn't much, so with this Artist Research I will be looking at the original ABC article regarding loneliness and sharing my thoughts and opinions on the artwork shown.

ABC graph showing suicide with gender and age.

The ABC article sheds light on the reality of elderly suicide, it's a heartbreaking article to read as it shows real people in these situations. It seems that first comes the social isolation and loneliness and then the depression hits when then leads to suicide attempts, the problem is that it's so easily prevented. These people have been almost forgotten about by society and it's our job as human beings to ensure no one feels like they have no options left. 

Lucy Fahey's illustrations on this subject are really beautiful. I found it really difficult to find pictures depicting elderly loneliness but I'm very happy I found these. There were 3 pieces of art on the article and one really sprung out to me, it's of a man sitting alone, his back turned and looking as though he's staring out of a window. This is such a common aspect of life with the elderly. I used to go to care homes when I was younger to sing to the elderly at Christmas with my primary school and you'd see many people doing this exact thing. My Grandma lives in a bungalow where there's many bungalows with many elderly people living in them and you can see them looking out the windows at the trees and the sky just watching the world go by all alone. I'm not saying all these people are lonely but there's a certain beauty within the sadness in that moment, they almost glaze over suspended in a moment and just wish I could know what they were thinking.

I really like Fahey's technique. It's almost effortless, the way the water colour is used is as though there isn't any blending, the highlights and low lights sit next to eachother working perfectly to create a depth that is very human. The colours used for human skin are are very raw, from the peaches and pinks to the blues and purples and leads to a very realistic depiction of the human form.

Overall I really enjoy the realism of Lucy Fahey's work. I think it really brings life to an article that is so heart wrenchingly sad.

ABC Article - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-08/mental-health-depression-elderly-suicide/6808998

Lucy Fahey - http://www.lucyfahey.com/index/