Did you know that we have our own ‘Pig on Parade’?  What is she on about you say!  One of our members, Vanessa Scott Hayward is one of 10 Kildare artists participating in a public arts initiative and fundraising campaign called ‘Pigs on Parade’, organised by the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation.

A total of 100 unique pieces of pig art, decorated by artists and designers, are on display now in publicly accessible areas around Dublin City for 5 weeks.  The Jack & Jill Foundation are inviting people to find the ‘Pigs on Parade’ with a chance to win lots of fantastic prizes. Each pig will have a code and one must  find 20 different pigs to enter the competition

Vanessa’s pig is called : A PIG’S TALE and her inspiration came from the special place the pig had in Irish life.  The pig adorned our first Free State coinage and bacon was frequently the only meat Irish families could afford to eat because they reared, killed and processed it themselves.   As you can see below, Vanessa cut into the body of the pig to draw the viewer in .

The ‘Pig in the Parlour’ scene inside the pig is inspired by the fact that you would often find a pig inside Irish houses because the landlords would charge extra for the pig house outside. The wording tattooed along its skin tell this story. The gold of its hooves and ears represent the pigs value both literally and metaphorically.

Vanessa is a multi-disciplinary visual artist based in Straffan, Co. Kildare. She runs and owns the design firm six0six design which specialises in high quality personalised designs for individuals and retailers as well as artwork and commissions for exhibitions and sale directly to clients. The body of her work is currently concerned with the theme of childhood and storytelling.

Well done Vanessa.