John Kirby The Blind, 1990

The paired paintings, The Blind and The Blind II, both include a blindfolded adult alongside a nude child. In 'The Blind I', a man stands wearing a suit and angel wings, covering the child's vision with his hand, whilst the child clings to his leg. The angel wings alongside the stigmata on his hands touch upon the influence of Catholicism within Kirby's practice.

I come from a Catholic family, and we spent a lot of our time in church as children. There were statues around, murals on the walls, and it was over-awing. I was fascinated by religious art so that was my main influenced really. It influenced me to be a figurative artist rather than an abstract artist. -John Kirby