Breaking open a confessional seal

Visual artist Trina McKillen’s childhood in west Belfast ensured she would have a deep attachment to the Catholic Church. Her own mother’s feeling of betrayal in the face of the child abuse revelations compelled her to explore that darkness, pain and ambiguity in her work. Her new installation Confess is provoking sorrowful and profound reactions in the US, writes Marion McKeone

Trina McKillen: ‘I wanted a purpose but I didn’t know what it was’

When Trina McKillen was a child in Anderstown, west Belfast, the Catholic Church was literally a place of safety and refuge. “I grew ...