My Father’s Death

My Father’s Death
Charcoal and acrylic drawing on arches 300gsm rag, 2024.

My Father’s Death, is a large-scale charcoal drawing on paper. It shows my father in his coffin.

I've been asked more than once if I took a photo of my father in his coffin. I didn’t. The image came to me unexpectedly—sent via text by the undertaker, who wanted to check if I was happy with how she’d dressed him in his suit.

I originally drew this image as a private drawing. I understand this might cross a line for some, and I respect that. But I can assure you, my dad wouldn’t have minded. He was an old Irishman with a black sense of humour. If he could see it, I’m certain he’d crack a joke about the drawing, or more likely, about me.

I haven’t tried to put this work into ‘art speak.’ It’s too personal for that. It felt like it needed a personal statement, something honest and direct, like the drawing itself.

I lived in Northern Ireland for a long time and was trained in the tradition of the Irish wake by my aunty. I've been to countless wakes over the years, seeing a body laid out in a home is a familiar part of that ritual. So while this image might seem confronting through an Australian lens, to me, it felt honest and very Irish.