Ragged Trousers

Ragged Trousers is an exhibition of new paintings by Paddy Critchley. The artist is interested in the representation of working-class life and in highlighting common issues facing many people in Ireland today.

The title of the exhibition is borrowed from ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ (1914) by Irish-born house-painter and sign-painter Robert Tressell. The semi-autobiographical novel is considered a seminal text on the exploitation of workers and the daily realities and obstacles they face.

Written over 100 years ago, the novel addresses issues and struggles still relevant today including high rent, cost of living, poverty, and emigration. Also known as the painter’s bible, it is a long-standing entry point into socialist narratives and ideologies.

For his exhibition at The Dock, Paddy Critchley draws on the conversations between the labourers depicted in the novel. Himself a house-painter, Paddy incorporates elements of the trade within his art practice as well as his own lived experiences.