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Willie Doherty, b.1959

The Walls1987

‘The Walls’ offers us a panoramic view of the nationalist housing estates of Derry’s Bogside taken from immediately inside the city’s historic walls. The top tier of a three-tier inscription overlaying the photograph reads ALWAYS / WITHOUT in green lettering, a colour emblematic of Nationalism; while at the bottom, in blue lettering traditionally connoting Unionism, are the words WITHIN / FOREVER. To the Nationalist population the Derry city walls signify exclusion and deprivation (both meanings of the preposition ‘WITHOUT’); whereas to the Unionist population they signify security and the preservation of a long established-order. The same image is thus viewed very differently in Northern Ireland’s riven communities.

MediumBlack and white photograph with text mounted on masonite
Dimensions61 x 152.5 cm
Credit LineIMMA Collection: Donation, the Artist, 2004
EditionEdition unique
Item NumberIMMA.1766
Copyright For copyright information, please contact the IMMA Collections team: [email protected].
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Image Caption
Willie Doherty, The Walls, 1987, Black and white photograph with text mounted on masonite, 61 x 152.5 cm, Collection Irish Museum of Modern Art, Donation, the Artist, 2004

For copyright information, please contact the IMMA Collections team: [email protected].

About the Artist

Willie Doherty b.1959

Willie Doherty is a native of Derry, Northern Ireland. Basing much of his work around Derry he uses photography, video and sound installations to explore the fallibility of human memory and recollection.
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