Bajes

Irish Artist Bairbre Higgins’s work depicting a horse’s head called – Bajes – meaning powerful warrior in Arabic.

Inspired by: Irish artist Louis Le Broquy’s ‘Presence’ series which was inspired by Polynesian head-sculptures.

About: Bairbre’s series of oil-on-canvas animal heads comprises three layers. An initial impressionistic image of the animal is overlaid with an anatomically accurate scaffolding of skull and then, following the secret logic of imagination governed by accident, she attempts to use paint to perform an archaeology of the animal’s spirit. With a focus on light and shade, composition recedes and things are left to chance. Bairbre’s aim is to use paint in a way that gives the eye a chance to follow the artist’s instincts beyond the superficial cage of flesh and bone – to materialise the inward uniqueness of each animal.

Primary Source: Subject matter for many of Higgins animal heads is sourced from photographs she takes over the walls and hedges of West Clare, a place where she has holidayed since a young age and views as her spiritual home. Bajes is different. The primary source is a photographic portrait of a purebred Arab stallion’s head.