Antechamber

As part of this research project, a large-scale installation entitled ‘Antechamber’, was constructed to create an immersive environment in which to view the photographic work, ‘Patterns and Signs from the Invisible World’, 2024.
This installation, devised to have a transformative effect on the museum environment it was presented in, incorporated fabrics and floor coverings to dramatically alter the atmosphere of the gallery space. These installational elements took the form of a vast bank of black curtains, which enveloped the gallery walls, and the floor, covered in black carpet, was specifically designed to muffle the viewer’s footfall as they moved throughout the installation, to alter the acoustics within the space.

Both spatial interventions were designed to create a heightened sense of theatricality within the installation, a key quality, intentionally devised in the use of mediums and processes employed in this research project, to impact viewer perceptions and experiences, conditioned by the ambient elements positioned within the space. These visual and atmospheric elements are harnessed within the installation and imagery to explore ideas of spectacle and the performative nature of the societal behaviours and interactions expected within the often invisible, unwritten rules of conduct and the culturally ascribed roles adopted in the everyday.

These installational elements, were devised to bring these works into relationship with their spatial environment, to activate the spaces the photographic works inhabit and engage the viewer in a manner that places emphasis on the of the act of looking. This was a particularly important consideration within this research, which seeks to question traditional notions of artworks as passive objects of observation. As this exhibition was experienced through the lens of the historical and cultural context of the museum, this project, in investigating these methodologies within a museum setting, interacted with museum exhibits, drawing them into new contexts of interpretation and agency.

The artwork selected from the Ulster Museum’s art collection for inclusion in the mode of enquiry explored in this exhibition, was the 1962 work, ‘January’ by British artist Richard Hilton (1911 – 1975). This abstract work offered key elements within its indexical mark-making, as Hilton’s application of paint mirrored the surface texture depicted in the photographic work, ‘Patterns and Signs from the Invisible World’, which sat in oppositional placement of Hilton’s painting within the installation space. The positioning and intentional proximity of these works, sought to draw them into relationship, to forge links between the visual language embedded within these 2-d works.

A further mirroring of surface textures and motifs was echoed in a third 3-d element, a large, black wooden panel, erected in one corner of the installation. Roughly painted and punctured with regular, lozenge shaped holes, it mimicked the wooden panel depicted in the photographic work. The large-scale wooden panel’s cut out sections and painted surface, in seeking to replicate that in the photographic image, formed an unintentional and abstract composition that closely resembled the indexical marks of Hilton’s, ‘January’. Thus, a triangular, spatial relationship of signs and symbols emerged within the installation, predicated on surface texture and pattern, that embodied the potential to suggest a repeating, coded, visual communication from one artwork to the other.

This research’s engagement in collaborative and cross disciplinary practice, stemming from ongoing work on the electronic music project TONN Recordings, has been a catalyst for experimentation with audio elements. As part of this research, the installation also debuted a new modular synth composition by electronic artist Sean McBride of Martial Canterel (U.S.), made in response to the photograph, ‘Patterns and Signs from the Invisible World’. The musical element of this project was audible in the gallery at different times of the day, further enriching the experience of moving through the installation and engaging with this work.

Works presented within this exhibition:

'Patterns and Signs from the Invisible World' colour giclée photographic print 2024, 110 cm x 130 cm

‘Antechamber’ installation, felt, carpet, wood, audio, dimensions variable

Commissioned audio work by electronic artist Sean McBride, musical composition of modular synth, duration 14:02 minutes, created in response to the photographic work, 'Patterns and Signs from the Invisible World' 2024. This collaboration is part of McIntyre’s ongoing work as the founder of the electronic music project and record label TONN Recordings, in development of her research explored in the solo exhibition, ‘Places We Think We Know’, DCA Dundee, 2021

‘January’ 1962, by artist Roger Hilton (1911 – 1975), oil on canvas, Ulster Museum art collection, National Museums NI, Bellum U545.

This research further developed the investigations, themes, mediums, processes and forms explored in the research project presented in the solo exhibition, ‘Places We Think We Know’, DCA Dundee, 2021

See also research carried out in the photographic series, ‘Gradually Unhappening’ 2021, ‘Quietly Dispelling the Dark’ 2021, ‘A Reflex of Her Loss a Glimpse of Finality’ 2021