The Visitor, 2008, Video Installation, Colour, Sound, Duration 10:00 min, High-Definition video.

Research output: Non-textual formArtefact

Abstract

A single screen video installation made specifically for the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin. The work has subsequently been shown at the Kroller Muller Museum, Netherlands and at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester. The work developed new methods in the use of narrative in the representation of post conflict trauma. The work referenced testimony from the Saville Inquiry and questioned how the use of such eye-witness testimony is subsequently remembered and fictionalised. The work sought to develop and extend the potential of works like Ghost Story, 2007 to contribute to the representation of post-conflict Northern Ireland in the absence of a formalised process of reconciliation whereby survivors are able to articulate their stories. A review of current mainstream cinema production of films that dealt with the major incidents from the recent history of Northern Ireland, including Hunger, 2008 dir. Steve McQueen and Bloody Sunday, 2002 dir. Paul Greengrass, underpinned the research. These films make use of conventional character driven plotlines while additional research into other forms of dealing with testimony and the aftermath of violence such as Bear in Mind These Dead, Susan McKay, Faber and Faber, 2008, forefront the experience of individual forgotten survivors. Through the use of voiceover the work places the voice of an unknown survivor at the core. The work simultaneously questions the reliability of the eyewitness testimony as the words oscillate between apparent fact and fiction. The Visitor proposes a fusion of documentary and fiction as a means of providing new methods of representing events that are often open to being misremembered or disputed.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationKerlin Gallery, Anne's Lane, South Anne Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Publication statusPublished (in print/issue) - Apr 2008

Bibliographical note

Outputmediatype: HDCAM Videotape/Blu-Ray disc

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