A new free art exhibition about men’s mental health is on display in Hammersmith – the London borough with the highest suicide rate.
Irish artist Damien McGinley’s ‘FAULT LINES’ exhibition features 13 original oil paintings of male icons who took their own lives, and is now on display at the Irish Cultural Centre.
Launched in aid of mental health charity Mind’s Time to Talk Day 2026, the campaign aims to persuade people to open up and destigmatise conversations about mental health issues.
At the launch event (February 4), Damien and many other artists spoke, performed and contributed to the conversation about mental health.
Damien said: “Our project’s focus is quite simple. It is to increase dialogue around men’s mental health.
“If we can manage that, who knows how many lines we can cross.”
The oil paintings depict artists and celebrities such as Kurt Cobain, Elliot Smith and Robin Williams.
McGinley said: “My real mantra is to test the eye.
“What I wanted was that barcode effect – when you’re standing up close to it, you cannot make the woods from the trees and then you stand back and everything becomes clear.”
The project began during the 2020 lockdown and from the start, McGinley wanted intentionality to be at the heart of the creative process.
For example, McGinley chose not to use black in any of the artworks to memorialise the subjects in all their vibrancy.
One of the supporting performers was Jay Broome, a singer from Cumbria who performed his song ‘I’ve Got You’ which he wrote after supporting a close friend through a struggle with mental health.
Jay’s performance was in support of Andy’s Man Club, a suicide prevention charity that offers free support services to men.
As the exhibition is in aid of Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow Mind, some local artists performed throughout the launch event including jodY, a neurodivergent spoken word poet from Shepherd’s Bush.
Performing two poems about his life as a person with autism and mental health struggles, jodY’s performance was a fantastic opening to a night dedicated to dispelling stigmatisation.
Another guest speaker was Fabian Halliburton, the founder of Equally Unique Love, an empathy training specialist service particularly focused on men of colour’s mental health.
Fabian created the service after feeling unsupported when he reached out for help in the past.
He said: “I’m sure that empathy can be used to help change an ignorant outlook into a positive mindset, which can definitely give us hope going into the future.”
The night was also soundtracked by trad music group Ri Rua, music duo West London in the House, jazz band Livingroom Collective and Irish folk artist Peter Coughlan.
The exhibition will run from January 22 – April 17, 2026, at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith and is free for the public with a suggested donation of £14 for the 14 men who die every day by suicide in the UK.
You can contact Samaritans any time for free on 116 123.
Featured image credit: Grace Crowley
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