Home explores what it means to have a place of comfort, privacy and security, an everyday reality still out of reach for many. In her immersive nine‑foot drawings, Wicklow artist Brigid O’Brien depicts people simply living: resting, working, playing. Each large-scale drawing brings viewers directly into the intimate world of the figures portrayed.

These ordinary moments speak to the profound stability a home provides.

Inspired by witnessing a young homeless family trying to create intimacy in a public space, the moment evoked sadness, anger, and an understanding that the security of home is neither guaranteed, nor evenly granted.

O’Brien reflects on the ongoing housing crisis, reminding us that the pathway to stability remains steep for many; yet she holds on to a conviction that we have a capacity to do better.

Visitors, especially children, are invited to respond creatively to the drawings by writing, drawing or sketching their own reflections on what home means to them in the gallery and adding their work to the exhibition.

This exhibition is associated with the John Hewitt International Summer School 2026.