ASBESTOS ^IE

Irish street artist explores how each of us beat ourselves up mentally and how we need to love ourselves more. Find his mural on the facade of the Foodcourt building.

Asbestos is an Irish artist who’s been creating work on the street in a variety of media since 2003.

In his mural I Beat Myself Up for the façade of Foodcourt, he will focus on masks and mental health. Asbestos uses these masks to create characters. They let him confront personal and societal issues and communicate with the public in a vulnerable, direct and revealing way that is often impossible to do while not wearing a mask.

Using solidarity as a starting point, Asbestos will explore how we need to recognise our frailties to each other and be open to share them.

This work shows him wearing a piñata mask, holding a stick, ready to beat himself up. It explores how the act of appearing calm and strong can cause us all to fall apart inside and how it’s okay to be vulnerable. We beat ourselves up about how we feel and how others think of us when we’d be better sharing our fears and problem. 

Each portrait Asbestos creates consists of two versions of his persona, one real and one fictional, combining photorealism and abstract naive strokes. In his work, Asbestos strives to provoke a reaction but one that creates a dialogue between him and the audience. Because his work only comes alive when it’s seen and interpreted by the public.