Over the past 5 years Enda Bowe has worked with young people on either side of the peace walls in Northern Ireland. Taking the symbolic bonfires of the July and August as his starting point, Bowe worked collaboratively with people from both sides of the sectarian divide to create open-ended visual narratives.

Love’s Fire Song is concerned with storytelling and the search for light and beauty in the ordinary. Precise references to political context and geographical locations are underplayed to offer subtle new perspectives, revealing a quiet, contemplative portrayal of the youth culture. Though often defined in opposition to each other by their religious beliefs, cultural background and inherited sense of place, Love’s Fire Song finds a commonality in the ancient ritual of gathering around a bonfire.

“To everyone’s life no matter how ordinary, a life just as beautiful and dramatic as everybody else’s. All the joy, stillness, subtleties of emotion and sadness in the everyday which links us all is what l am honing in on. People like to be acknowledged, they want to have an identity and presence in a world where they maybe feel they are not seen nor heard. The emotional narrative of everyone’s life is interesting, and that is what l am drawn to.” Enda Bowe

Inspired by the ethos of the late John Hume, Bowe’s deeply empathetic portraits go beyond stereotypical representations to touch on shared human experiences of longing, vulnerability, joy and celebration. Where others might see mundane, everyday situations, Bowe finds beauty, hope and optimism. Love’s Fire Song looks beyond the often destructive influence of history to reflect on the commonalities that exist between seemingly disparate places and lives.