Salvatore Fullam: ‘Art just haemorrhages money. I haven't managed to work out how you’re supposed to make a living from it’

The proudly Lucan-born and based artist had his first solo show two years after graduating from art college, was last year’s winner of the Zurich Portrait Prize exhibition and is preparing for an exhibition at the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery

Salvatore Fullam: ‘I probably considered myself an artist as soon as I started painting.’ Picture: Fergal Phillips

Growing up in Ireland, Salvatore Fullam was always being asked about his background. Here was a half-Irish, half-Bangladeshi kid with an Italian name: a conundrum for a lot of people meeting him for the first time. Now, as a 28-year-old, he goes by the tongue-in-cheek moniker Salvatore of Lucan – in part an answer to that persistent question of where he’s from.

It’s an appropriate title for an artist with a deep and nourishing connection ...