An oil portrait of a young man with red, curly hair. He has red marks on his cheeks, and looks directly at the viewer. The portrait is cropped, so we see his head, and a glimpse of what he is wearing - a white t-shirt and a green hooded top.

Matthew McCabe, MCR1 variant phenotype, 2019. © Matthew McCabe.Credit

Matthew McCabe

MC1R variant phenotype, 2019

Oil on canvas, 70 x 50 cm

This is a painting of the artist’s son and his incredible orange-coloured hair. Red hair is linked to a variation in the MC1R gene sequence that reduces the amount of melanin in the skin. This allows more UV light to penetrate and activate vitamin D synthesis. Ireland has the world’s highest percentage (approximately 10%) of ‘People With Red Hair’ (PWRH). It remains socially acceptable to single out PWRH because of their physical appearance. The look of defiance in his son’s expression is not unintentional

Go back to the shortlisted works