Unspeakable, the artist as witness to the Holocaust

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Paul Ryan

'In this small drawing there seemed to be so much concentrated into so little; enough to demand closer inspection.'

Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan, Concentrate
Concentrate, 2001
ink, Imperial War Museum

Paul Ryan was born in Leicester in 1968 and currently resides in London. He has studied art at the Wimbledon School of Art as well as at the University of the Arts London. His work takes shape through a broad range of mediums, including sketchbooks and art installations.

'Concentrate' is a deceptively simple reaction to the Holocaust. Worked up from a small sketch, 'Concentrate' retains the spontaneity and simplicity of the original. The title hints at the many layers of the work, from the obvious subject matter of concentration camps to an instruction to the viewer to concentrate on the topic at hand.

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