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The Undertow
The Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny
Summer 2024
Well-worn paths, forgotten and rediscovered, unexpected echoes of memory, the playing fields of the mind. From Gilgamesh to Tesla, there has always been ‘the other’, waiting in the folds of history. To ride the currents of time we need a map, and the instruments of navigation. This is The Undertow.
High Cross
Installation for ‘Turas’ Exhibition – A Reflection on St. Columkille
This installation was created in response to an invitation to participate in the Turas exhibition at the Letterkenny Regional Cultural Centre, celebrating the 1500th anniversary of St. Columkille (also known as St. Columba).
At the time, I had a chance encounter with historian Brian Lacey, who had recently moved into my neighborhood. He was writing an article for the Irish Archaeological Journal about the Ray Cross ( pronounced Rye), its history, and its legendary connections to St. Columkille. This coincided with the recent death of my mother and the discovery of a collection of family prayer books and Bibles, adding a personal layer to my response.
Columkille is known for being at the center of the first recorded copyright dispute, making the presence of these Bibles particularly resonant. The theme of sacred texts also appears in the legend of the Ray Cross. According to tradition, the cross was originally intended for Tory Island, but Columkille forgot his Bible. When the cross reached the Church of St. Finnian, Columkille realized he had left his Bible behind on Muckish, just as it began to rain. St. Finnian offered to retrieve it on one condition: if the Bible remained dry and unharmed, he would be granted a wish. Upon reaching Muckish, Finnian found the Bible resting on a rock, protected by a raven standing over it with its wings outstretched. Upon his return, Finnian requested that the cross remain at his church in Cloghaneely instead of continuing to Tory Island.
Another story woven into the installation is the tale of the “flying staff,” which recounts a contest between saints to see who could throw their staff to Tory Island. Columkille was the only one to succeed. This tale, like many others in early Christian mythology, has its roots in pre-Christian traditions—specifically in stories of the god Lugh of the Long Arm. The raven on Muckish, too, likely stems from older pagan symbolism.
In the summer of the following year this installation was taken to Tory and the replica of the cross was buried on the island.
An Dóigh ina Noibrim
An Dóigh ina Noibrim or ‘How I work’ was an opportunity for myself and two other artists to showcase our work practice at An Gaileari in Derry beg. I chose to use the opportunity as a residency and use the space to explore ways of using cardboard to create large sculptural forms.
This was a timely opportunity for me to get to grips with new methods of building in this material, before I embarked on work for the Turas exhibition at the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny.
My favourite part of this exploration was making a tide line with blue masking tape and measuring its level with a little cardboard pointer on a base, it looked like a little sail boat. I want to use this device again.
Dearest someone was asking for you
‘Dearest Someone was asking for you’ features as its centre piece a chair made of the upholstered pelvis and lower spine of a horse. These bones were found by my eldest daughter in the dunes on the coast at Magheroarty not far from here. She took the skull and gifted me the other bones , among them the ribs which formed part of the bones piece in ‘Them’ . The pelvis sat on my studio wall for many many years but all along I knew one day I was going to make a chair.
It was not until after the deaths of my sister and subsequently my mother that I finally put my ideas into action on being invited to show in Gallery 2 at the R.C.C. This gallery has a descending ramp crossing the entry side and the right hand wall creating a sense of going down into another realm.
Over the chair is a mantel of black net with rings of marbles wrapped in black nylon. Around the walls are plaster casts of the face I later used in the Undertow for which I had originally envisioned them. My concepts constantly overlap and feed into each other in this way.
