Photo of the Week: 26th April – 2nd May 2010

Time for my second ever photo of the week. The image I’ve chosen this week was quite a hard one to photograph, but I think it is important to share it’s message of both despair and hope – a contradiction, I know.

The below photo, taken on Sunday 2nd May, is one of the famous Derry Murals painted by local artists to depict some of the terrible happenings that went on during the time of the Northern Ireland troubles.

Annette McGavigan, a young victim of the Northern Ireland conflict

This photo shows despair, as the young girl in this mural is Annette McGavigan, a 14 year old who was shot dead during the Derry violence in 1971. She was still in her school uniform.

The image also shows hope, as it has recently been re-painted to represent the future that Derry is looking forward to. The gun on the left hand side was originally painted black and complete, today it is painted red and broken in half. The butterfly was once grey, but today is painted in orange and purple – bright colours that are perhaps thought an appropriate way to celebrate life and childhood.

As I said before, this is a hard image to look at, take in, and appreciate – but an image that the people of Derry want others to see in order that they recognise the positive future that the city has today.