Painting over the Troubles: street art, class, and re-imaging Belfast
Published in Irish Studies Review, January 2025.
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Abstract
This paper argues how postcolonial melancholia, as defined by Paul Gilroy, haunts attempts within Belfast to use public art to move past the trauma from the Troubles and colonialism’s lingering impact. We begin by addressing the history of political murals and re-imaging projects where public art is used to soften Belfast’s sectarian imagery. We then explore recent efforts by street artists to re-image the city to make it more amenable to tourists and middle-class patrons. We conclude with the reflections from promoters, artists, and graffiti writers regarding the role of public art as they oscillate between acknowledging the impossible task of art moving beyond historical trauma, political upheaval, and colonialism and idealised notions of art. An overarching middle-class vision of art and the neoliberal approaches of using it to bolster the city as a tourist destination fit awkwardly within the postcolonial melancholia that continues to trouble Belfast.