A bright future awaits for budding Laois artist Mia

MIA DUNNE from Ballyfin recently launched her first solo exhibition at just 16 years of age in the Gallery of Divine Inspiration at Bloom HQ in Mountrath recently.

The gifted teenager’s first solo show includes a set of detailed pieces featuring miniature comic books created with markers. Mia even has two pieces on display that she produced using make-up.

For more than a year, gallery curator and artist Kevin McCann has been actively seeking out local artists to display their works in Bloom’s monthly art exhibitions. Kevin said that Mia is the 15th artist to show their works in the current series and that she is “a super talent and definitely one to watch out for”.

Speaking to the Laois Nationalist at her launch, Mia said that she is a TY student at Portlaoise College, is self-taught and achieved a distinction for art in her junior cycle exam.

She said: “I have titled the exhibition ‘My OC’, which stands for my own characters. One or two of them are not originally mine, like Anya from Stephen King’s The Shining, but are my variations.

“I have always been drawing as far back as I can remember. I used to draw on the walls at home as a very young child and I have been drawing all my life. My works are influenced by both personal stories and things that pop into my head. I love music and play the guitar, so a lot of my characters are based on music, and they might play guitar themselves.” There are great stories behind Mia’s characters. One cartoon piece shows Mia’s OC named Astr, who works the nightshift at a pizza joint, which turns out to be haunted.

Commenting on Mia’s works, Kevin McCann said: “Local artist Antoinette Breen works with Mia’s mother and she put her onto me. When I went up to see her works, I thought that for a 16-year-old, whatever about working in paints … but working in markers and make-up and the way she blended the facial and skin tones … you’d be jealous of that talent at that age. These are very top-class works. Mia is a super talent. Animation is her thing, but I’m sure that if she put her mind to it, she would be brilliant at any type of art.” The exhibition was launched by Mia’s proud dad Neil, following a few words of thanks from the artist herself.

Welcoming everyone to his daughter’s first solo exhibition, he said: “We’re delighted to see so many people coming to Mia’s first-ever solo exhibition. Mia is my favourite artist and it’s amazing to see all of her wonderful drawings with their great details on display here. We’re very lucky that we get to stand back and see the creation and the creativity that goes into this art.

“It’s great to see her OCs, as she calls them – her original characters. She starts with a blank page and all of a sudden there’s sketches on it, there’s lining on it then there’s colour and blending. It’s incredible to see, we’re so fortunate to be able to see this.” Neil went on to thank Antoinette Breen and Kevin McCann. He said they both saw Mia’s work and were “very kind to have offered her the opportunity to exhibit her works for her first time”.

At the launch, Mia presented a bouquet of flowers to Antoinette and a gift to Kevin.

Mia’s works will remain on display until the end of December and the exhibition is well worth viewing. For more details, contact Bloom HQ on 057 9300036.