Fine Art nominee

Raised between poverty-ridden council estates and the nurturing beauty of the Irish wilderness, my work inhabits the space where opposing realities meet. I grew up with a mother living in both love and illness - manic bipolar disorder and addiction, entwined with quiet tenderness and care. Through nature, I learned to understand my mother, myself, my surroundings and the fragile threshold linking darkness and light, wilderness and home.

Jason McGroarty is an Irish artist best known for his conceptual work exploring the relationship between wildlife and the human experience, often blending components of nature with civilization. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1992, he was raised in Co. Donegal in the Northwest of the Isle. McGroarty spent his formative years between poverty-ridden council estates and the nurturing beauty of the Irish wilderness, his work inhabits the space where opposing realities meet. McGroarty was raised by his mother, who lived with manic bipolar disorder and the all-too-familiar disease of addiction. Through nature, he learned to understand his mother, his surroundings and the fragile threshold linking darkness and light, wilderness and home.