Remembering Sharon and her daughters through art at Thomastown Community Hall

A wonderful young mother and her two gorgeous daughters are remembered in an unique piece of art, which was exhibited to the public at Thomastown Community Hall in Kilkenny last weekend.
Sharon Whelan and her daughters Zarah and Nadia were murdered at their home, close to the village of Windgap on Christmas Eve 2008. Brian Hennessy was convicted of murdering them and earlier this year was refused parole.
John is involved in SAVE - Sentencing and Victim Equality, a campaign group set up by John and other families whose loved ones have been taken from them through violent crime.
The title of the artwork is Embrace and it was created by Chris Lanigan who lives in Paulstown, close to Sharon’s brother John.
“It took me two years to approach John Whelan about a possible memorial piece for Sharon, Zarah and Nadia,” said Chris. We played ‘mature’ indoor soccer and our sons shared a classroom and all the other events that go hand and hand with national school.
“I am aware not everyone ‘gets’ my work and I didn’t want to put John in an awkward position of politely or uncomfortably accepting for that matter! I also didn’t want to give the impression that this was some kind of magic art therapy... it is what it is. A lovely process to be involved in for those who like my work.
“Two things changed. I heard John liked the collaboration I did and John’s appearance on the Late Late Show in November 2016 advocating fairer sentencing laws.
“I just thought, “Go for it” .. I asked, he liked, we began.
“We decided on a Triptych - a canvas for each loved one. John’s wife Sandra came up with the design concept and the process of turning design to installation followed.
“The colour scheme is influenced by a lovely harbour painting, which was painted by Sandra’s father and hangs in the same room as ‘Embrace’.
“Being in the studio with the Whelans was a humbling experience but also I am delighted they got to see this collaboration take shape to the music in real time.
“It is such a wonderful compliment as an artist that work is cherished as much as the Whelan family cherish ‘Embrace’ and it hands in my favourite gallery of all - their living room,” added Mr Lanigan.
The process involves the artist painting while listening to music specially chosen to remember their loved ones.
“We chose ‘Wish You Were Here’ by Pink Floyd to remember Sharon and The Sound of Silence to remember Zarah and Nadia and to highlight how it is very important not to be silent when it comes to victims’ rights and the rights of their families and loved ones,” said John.
“It was a very powerful process. My wife Sharon did the design of the three circles embracing each other and chose the colours and the canvas was then spun to the music and Chris put the paint on.
“It is a very unique way of creating art,” he added. “We treasure having it in our home and the fact that we were part of the process and we were then when it was being created.”
John is instrumental in raising awareness in Ireland around sentencing and the need for reform in this area.
“We need reform of the justice system so their there is more equality for victims and their families,” he added. “A life sentence should mean just that - life. At the moment it is all about the perpetrator of the crime and not about the victims and those who are left behind.”