LIAM RYAN Umbra Docet

The show features a painting of Andrija Artuković, and I invite anyone who wishes to deface his image. This is a natural response, and I invite anyone to express their feelings about the world then or about the world today. I will supply oil pastels, but please do what you will, within the boundaries of practical safety.

I am from Ireland, and regrettably, my country—then the Irish Free State, neutral in WWII—was subsequently used by war criminals as a safe haven and as an identity-laundering stop-off point for high-ranking fugitives en route to the Americas and other destinations.

For the sake of anyone who is not Croatian: Artuković was the minister for Internal Affairs and Justice in occupied Yugoslavia, and he signed into being racial laws against Serbs, Jews, and Roma. He was responsible for the establishment and functioning of camps in Yugoslavia, in which 100,000 individuals suffered and were murdered.

From 1947 to 1948, Artuković lived with his family as a free man in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. He was not investigated. He arrived under a false passport, arranged by the general delegate of the Franciscans of Switzerland. It is not clear whether intelligence services did not reveal his identity, if his presence was tolerated in a neutral state, or if mistakes were made between Switzerland and Ireland. But he didn’t have a face that could easily be confused with anyone else’s. The exact scenario has not been officially defined, as far as I can gather, but by no means is this something to be proud of.

The leprechauns carrying gold make fun of that man’s narcissistic and overly fastidious projection of self-image. At the same time, the diminutive and obsequious leprechauns speak to the Irish state’s lack of proper agency.

I relate this tolerance of Artuković—and other infamous fugitives like Otto Skorzeny and Pieter Menten—to a quiet tolerance the state has for evil and a new fascism creeping into the world.

Since 2001, part of a commercial Irish airport, Shannon Airport, has been used by the American military as a stop-off point for their military aircraft. The U.S. Air Force has been allowed its own area on the airfield, with no oversight or interference from Irish authorities. Who or what is being transported through that airport, or stored there, is therefore an American secret—but at the very least, it is a transit point for weapons. For all the Irish people know, it could have been used as a military interrogation black site when torture was employed during the Bush administration, in a country that claims neutrality.

In recent years, in light of the atrocity in Gaza, the free use of Shannon is especially inexcusable. Under Donald Trump, anything could happen. If he comes to self-identify with America itself, things could turn on a dime. This is annexation by consent, and after 24 years of Shannon being in service to the U.S., it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for arrangements to abruptly change anytime soon.

This show is a protest and an observation on how evil can quietly be normalized.

Liam Ryan was born in Ireland in 1982.

He studied in Dublin & also in London. He lived & worked in London for 14 years & after that in Berlin for 2.5 years. Currently he lives in Ireland & is working on several different long term projects due for completion this year.