Crann Comhair
Acrylic on Canvas
100cm x 150cm
Signed and dated verso
Vincent Devine b.1986
2024
Irish translation:
Tree of Co- operation/Partnership
CRANN COMHAIR
This painting was commissioned to communicate the core ethos of the All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AICRI), which is building an overarching framework for cancer research - from prevention to survivorship across the entire island of Ireland (www.aicri.org).
The focus of the painting is the central tree, which symbolises AICRI. It grows in the centre of a landmass shaped to capture the island of Ireland. The surrounding environment is dotted with flora and fauna. The central tree branches and spreads across this island, providing shelter for the plants growing underneath, protecting them from the sometimes harsh and changeable natural elements (carcinogens).
The vibrant and colourful wildflowers symbolise patients. The central trunk emulates a triple helix, representative of collaboration between different stakeholders, both within the island of Ireland and internationally. Varying branches of the tree symbolise the spreading of information and cross-collaboration that is facilitated under AICRI, along with the diversity of cancer types which challenge us as humans.
We see the border of Ireland and Northern Ireland as a row of white flowers, symbolising peace under the Good Friday Agreement, a key element in the development of AICRI and its continued evolution. The diversity of organisms in the environment is reflective of the rich and varied aspects of cancer research and associated interplay.
Two complementary sets of smaller, paired trees in the shapes of lungs and faces, sit either side of the main tree. The first tree pairing to the left, in the shape of lungs, is to commemorate the introduction in March 2004 of the ban on smoking in public places in Ireland, the first country in the world to do so. It also reflects the critical need for additional research and innovation in the area of lung cancer, which was highlighted by the Lancet Oncology European Groundshot Commission in 2022, led from the island of Ireland. While progress has been made in terms of lung cancer prevention and therapeutics, there is still a key need for further advances to be made. The various colouration of flowers in each lung tree represent the vast array of precision treatments for lung cancer which have emerged in recent years, spawned by new discoveries at a molecular level. The second tree pairing to the right, in the shape of two faces, relates to both the origins of AICRI and the key importance of ensuring equity of access to both cancer research and care.
The early origins of AICRI started in April 2018 as an impromptu conversation between a cancer researcher and a patient advocate at a Patient Voice in Cancer Research event in University College Dublin. From this initial start, a groundswell of bottom-up and inclusive input from multiple stakeholders across the island of Ireland have shaped what AICRI is and will be. The two faces also represent the issue of cancer inequalities, i.e. the experience of cancer can be vastly different depending on social, financial and geographical circumstances. The face on the right has a enlarged jaw to represent the key work of Dr Denis Parsons Burkitt (an Irish medical doctor) in originally describing a paediatric cancer which was common in children in Africa (Burkitt’s lymphoma), with the vegetation on the ground also representing his later major work which provided connections between degree of fibre intake and risk of colorectal cancer.
The moon provides the main light source in this surrealistic landscape, symbolising the Cancer Moonshot initiative, led by the United States. This powerful visionary approach, initiated by President Joe Biden, is represented as a rocket shooting up to the sky.
This year (2024) marks the 25th anniversary of the Ireland-Northern Ireland-NCI Cancer Consortium. A direct health dividend of the Good Friday Agreement, this tripartite collaboration has led a significant impact on cancer research on the island of Ireland (not only doing more but doing it better), with over 35,000 cancer patients participating on clinical trials and dramatic improvements in survival rates. The night sky is dotted with 25 stars symbolising this anniversary; a new constellation formed under unprecedented collaborative efforts. Three stars are highlighted in particular, forming a triangle to represent the historical and renewed tripartite agreements between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the US National Cancer Institute, which have had a major impact on cancer research and care.
One key figure who was crucial to the forming of the original tripartite agreement, or All-Ireland Cancer Consortium, was the late Professor Patrick (Paddy) Johnston. Paddy is symbolised as a lighthouse, shining a light of vision for others.
The American bald eagle is shown about to land on the tree with an egg carefully held in its talons, emblematic of the constant and fruitful transatlantic relationship enjoyed between the US and the island of Ireland. A nest already containing a red egg is symbolic of the already strong collaborative efforts between the US, Ireland and Northern Ireland to this day.
The landmass of the island of Ireland, together with parts of Britain and mainland Europe, are clearly defined in the painting. They have been pulled closer together, reversing continental drift, pulling the landmasses closer together with the aim of a representing a unified fight against cancer, with AICRI at the core. The painting also represents the island of Ireland’s central geographic location, as a natural bridge between America and Europe. Mainland Europe is represented in the bottom left-hand corner of the painting. We see one of the bright stars of the European flag shining its light on the landmass representing the European Groundshot initiative, which has shone a greater light on cancer research and the practical realities of delivering 21 st century cancer care.
Indeed, it has clearly shown through the Groundshot that patients treated in research-active hospitals have better outcomes than those that do not. Its light is also shining onto the coast of Ireland, a bridge of light across the water expanse.
The butterfly and hummingbird, known to be some of the best pollinators, observe the landscape of Ireland. The hummingbird symbolises European representatives who have come to observe this AICRI landscape and are now returning to Europe to spread the ideas shared and vice versa. The butterfly lights atop a coin, highlighting and bringing awareness to financial inequalities often experienced across European countries by cancer patients and survivors, reflecting the European Cancer Patient’s Bill of Rights, another island of Ireland-led initiative, which was launched 10 years ago on World Cancer Day in the European Parliament.
Stars dot the sky, representing those leaving behind a legacy of research and care for future generations, a glimmer of hope in a universe shared by us all. The inclusion of constellations and the cosmos should serve as a reminder that cancer is a humanitarian crisis experienced across our planet and we have a common shared goal.
To paraphrase Paddy, ‘Dream no small dreams, for they move not the hearts of men nor women’ (variant of the van Goethe quote).
Contributors:
Professor William Gallagher, Professor Mark Lawler, Ciaran Briscoe, Professor Françoise Meunier, Dr Bill Dahut, Eamonn Earls, Professor Jarushka Naidoo, Debbie Keatley, Dr Julie Gralow, Kathy Oliver, Clodagh Murphy, Claire Kilty and Seamus Cotter.