Báinín Dearg, Red Cloth (2020) Drawn from Borders, ArtLink Virtual Exhibition

Moira McIver (Photographer)

Research output: Non-textual formExhibition

Abstract

Báinín Dearg, Red Cloth comprised a triptych of photographic scans exhibited within "Drawn For Borders", a virtual exhibition organised by ArtLink, Fort Dunree, Donegal. This body of work was developed as part of an artist led project exploring the concepts and realities of borders. The project was initiated by ArtLink and the Nerve Centre, Derry.
In the artwork I was interested in how the border is visualised as a drawn line. Looking at the original Border Commission maps from 1925, I noticed the strong red line across the country, a border drawing which has become so familiar to us, we hardly acknowledge it any longer. On this 1925 map there are the records of indecision and uncertainty, marked by dotted lines. However, we are conscious of living within these irregular demarcations of space and within different jurisdictions. Our lives continue along and through these borderlines. My mother was born in 1928 and her life was spent crossing the borders between home in Donegal, Northern Ireland and Scotland. She has died in this strange Spring during the Coronavirus Pandemic, yet her life and rich culture will continue through following generations. Báinín dearg is the red cloth which she kept at home, to help sore shoulders or an aching back. We need its healing properties more than ever and our human capacity to connect rather than divide.

Artists Included: Anne Marie Savage, Anne Loveday, Bernadette Bradley, Brenda McPherson, Caroline Kuyper, Clare Toland, Jacqui Devenney Reed, Katrina Tracuma, Marian O'Donnell, Mark Cullen, Martha McCulloch, Mary Joyce Davis,
Noel O'Connor, Orla McKeever, Paul Cairns, Paul Murray, Sally Patton, Sue Morris &DNK, Tina O'Connell.

Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationDonegal
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - 21 May 2020

Keywords

  • Border
  • photography
  • history
  • memory
  • drawing
  • irish
  • Northern Ireland

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