Ghost Story: 52nd Venice Biennale

Group Exhibition at 52nd Venice Biennale which exhibited three video works by Willie Doherty - the newly commissioned
Ghost story (2007) , Closure (2005) and Passage (2006).

Ghost story, 2007, is a deft demonstration of how the political and the mythical entwine themselves within collective cultural memory. Taking the viewer down an anonymous tree-lined path, Doherty's camera pans slowly through the dense foliage as it
searches for signs of life. The viewer who observes the passing scenery from the seat of an imaginary car is informed that these forests are populated by wraiths. When spotted, these curious creatures signal the imminent death of those that encounter them or one of their close friends or relatives. Comparing these mythical apparitions with the unnerving experience of viewing images of the recently deceased published by the media, Doherty highlights the absurdity of such widespread and unnecessary violence. The spectral presences which haunt Doherty's images serve to remind us that the complex history of his homeland continually evades
the exacting eye of history and spills out into the lore of its people.

Irish Artists exhibiting were Willie Doherty, Gerard Byrne and Judith Wilkinson.