1 x 30’ – BBC NI (2015)
The name of eighty-two-year-old Basil Blackshaw as an artist is on the tip of everybody’s tongue who is familiar with painting on the island of Ireland – but he remains as elusive and as enigmatic as international artist Banksy.
Blackshaw – who lives among bulrushes in County Antrim and to whom the village of Doagh up the road from his home, is ‘abroad’ – agreed to be filmed for the first time – speaking liberally and generously of his inner most thoughts on “making paintings.”
Up until now Blackshaw’s paintings hanging in galleries and in museums were the only clue to the public as to what makes him tick.
The extremes to which he went to guard his privacy historically manifested themselves when he opted to wear a paper bag over his head visiting one of his exhibitions in Cork, rather than be photographed by a local photographer.
Director: Michael Mallie
DOP: Michael Quinn
Editor: David Gray
