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=James (Jim) Dornan=

James (Jim) Dornan ( 1913 -  1981)  was an outsider artist whose cohesive body of work (around 80 pieces) started to gain recognition some twenty years after his death. Dornan characteristically used images of the brain and internal organs coupled with other imagery and text to express  ideas on the picture plane. His themes, often presented as questions, relate to human existence; health, sickness, education, sexuality, consciousness and belief. He referred to his life's work as 'Get Well Research'.

Early Life
Jim Dornan was born in Ireland in 1913. (1) By the time he was six, his family had emigrated to New Zealand and settled in the rural district of Wairoa. He completed school to the 5th standard before commencing work as a labourer. (2) Valerie Smith recalls the young Dornan (ca.1930) as being friendly but different, 'like a gypsy' (3). From 1942 – 1946 he was enlisted in the New Zealand Army, based at Trentham Camp for the duration, after which he returned to Wairoa and labouring work.(2)