The art of politics
Sculptor Anthony ‘Anto’ Brennan is best known for his satirical chess set once played by Tony Blair but the pieces on show at his Belfast gallery mark many historical moments in Northern Ireland politics. Emma Blee visits to find out more.
There aren’t many artists that could count Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and Mary McAleese as customers but Anto Brennan’s political chess set has attracted the most unlikely of fans.
He had “always been good at art” and became especially inspired whilst working as a builder in London during the early 1990s so he started making clay figures for workmates in his spare time.
After returning to Belfast in 1993 he found there was very little work in construction and decided to turn his craft into a career. Working alongside his brother Geraldo, he took on a stall in Smithfield Market in the city.
“In 1995 I started by making clay sculptures of people from photographs and then we came up with the idea of the political chess board,” he recalls.
The set is made up of caricatures including Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, Tony Blair, David Trimble, Mary McAleese and John Hume, while the pawns are RUC and IRA figures. All the figures are pitched as opponents against each other.
A large version of the chess board is on display in McHugh’s bar in Belfast city centre. There is also one in the City Hall and Hillsborough Castle and they have even travelled as far as America and Russia.
With their work proving to be a big hit, the brothers originally launched their Open Window Productions gallery inside the Cathedral Quarter but have since moved to Donegall Street. Statues, prints, photographs and other works of art are scattered throughout the gallery, marking major events of Northern Ireland’s history as well as the Brennan brothers’ fascinating journey during the last twenty years.
Inspiration
Brought up in a socialist family, the brothers were “always interested in politics” and Brennan says inspiration for the set stemmed mainly from their experiences of Northern Ireland politics. “I always thought that politics here was like a big game of chess because the politicians are always trying to out- manoeuvre each other. It’s a visual metaphor for the political situation here,” he explains.
Ironically Brennan doesn’t know to play chess but says the board is fully functional for those who can.
It has had other functions over the years though. During George Bush’s visit to the province in April 2003, Tony Blair used the figures to explain the Northern Irish attitude toward the war in Iraq. Brennan says it was a “crazy time” and they hadn’t expected the chess set to be such a hit.
Mo Mowlam also became a “good friend” over the years and helped the Brennan brothers attract global interest during an enterprise trip to Boston.
“Mo introduced me to Richard Branson when she was Secretary of State. Then she commissioned me to do a model of him from a photograph in his flying gear. We flew over to London and met him in his big fancy mansion and we all had tea and scones. That was pretty cool,” he remarks.
Despite the success of the chess board, Brennan says his favourite piece to have worked on is actually a six foot statue of James Larkin, renowned Labour leader and founder of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).
It was created in 2007 as a commission for ICTU to commemorate 100 years since Larkin’s arrival in Belfast. A bronze cast of the resin sculpture was made, which currently hangs on the wall of the ICTU building in Donegall Street Place.
Important
Larkin is “an important figure” in history, says Brennan, and after some researching he “decided to do him in the familiar pose with the hands raised in the air and him shouting.”
It took a full year to complete as it was made “more or less to scale” and “Larkin was by all accounts a big man”.
Brennan explains: “It was definitely a labour of love. I think he is the only man in Ireland to have two statues erected in his honour. There is a big one in O’Connell Street, Dublin, around 15 feet high, and the one I did for the ICTU.”
The original resin sculpture still remains in his studio but Brennan says one of his priorities is to “get him moved into the city centre where more people could have a look”.
His plans for the coming year are to make sure the gallery “stays afloat” and completing a six foot stone model of the Titanic to mark its centenary. He has also completed a Titanic-themed chess set, which he hopes will be a big attraction during the commemorative events.
Among the Brennans’ other commissioned creations are eight feet high sculptures of shipyard workers for the Kremlin nightclub in Belfast city centre.
Other work for private clients has included a collection of 18 leprechauns, a six foot high Greek god and other statues.
Brennan says that while he has been successful, money isn’t his motivation: “If I had mass-produced the chess set in 1998 I wouldn’t be sitting here today, I’d be in Spain somewhere. But at the end of the day I’m an artist and a sculptor. Business comes second.”
