WATCH: Artist’s sculpture is in honour of his emigrant dad

THE West Cork-based artist John Kelly has found a final resting place for a sculpture honouring his late father, Ben.

Man Lifting Cow was installed at Reen Farm last week and at its base is Ben’s obituary etched in Irish limestone.

Artist and sculptor John Kelly with his latest installation Man Lifting Cow at Reen Farm. (Photo: Anne Minihane)

Having previously questioned why monumental sculptures have been dedicated to historical figures with dubious human rights records, John correctly asked: ‘Who among us should be honoured in our civic spaces?’

In 2015, John answered his own question when his dad provided the inspiration for the overall-clad man in his bronze sculpture, Man Lifting Cow, which was first located in Sunshine, a western suburb of Melbourne.

John was born in Bristol, England, but grew up in Australia, before relocating back to England and then South Reen near Union Hall in 2003.

He said his Irish dad, and English mother Margaret, were the original ‘Ten Pound Poms’, having emigrated to Melbourne in 1965.

John’s mother is still living, but his dad passed away after a long battle with cancer, in his 87th year, in 2017.

John explained that the overalls in the sculpture were his father’s regular attire, having worked as a driver in rock quarries in the UK and Australia. The sculpture also gives a nod to Sisyphus, the Greek condemned by the Gods to eternally push a rock to the top of a mountain, only for it to roll back down each time.

‘As a 19-year-old itinerant Irish worker he would have had it tough on the road and he recounted stories of his wages being stolen while also encountering blatant racism, epitomised by the infamous inscription: “No Dogs, No Irish”,’ said John.

While Man lifting Cow references the family history, John said the box-shaped cow is a direct reference to the fact that his mother won a competition on the side of a milk carton that enabled him to go to art school.

Ben’s determination to lift his children to a better future in Australia is also in the mix.

‘His familial pride allowed him to tolerate the difficult and repetitive working conditions, and his life epitomised the selfless parent,’ said John.

The work of art – which weighs approximately five tonnes – was shipped from Australia to Ireland and the sculpture made its final journey in a 20ft sea container on the back of a truck to Reen.

It took two cranes to install it near another of John’s famous works Cow in a Tree.

‘It completes a grieving process for me to bring my dad home,’ said John.