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Requiem at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin 2005 |
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Click here to view images of the work Artist’s Statement: “Requiem” or “Éagnairc” was a seminal exhibition for me. It began as a very personal investigation. My family history is closely linked to the history of Kilmainham Gaol. We are related to Pádraig Mac Piarais, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising ( who was executed in the Gaol in 1916 ). My father, Piaras F. Mac Lochlainn was involved with the restoration of the Gaol as a museum but he died in 1969 when I was just 10 years old. I would say that our feelings about the Easter Rising have remained deep but largely unexpressed in a society that has not always been open to its history. This project began as a requiem, but it led to an exploration of issues of identity, idealism and ‘terror’ in the context of the 21st century. The work was installed behind locked doors in 24 cells in the Gaol ( to be viewed only through the guard’s spy holes ) - alluding to the reluctance in Ireland today to come to terms with our violent history. It seemed to me that unless we could acknowledge our past, we could not begin the process of healing or move forward as an independent nation. ‘Requiem’ was conceived as a lament, a celebration and a letting go. To quote John Tusa of the Barbican Centre, London : “The Arts link a society to its past, a people to its inherited store of ideas, images and words, yet the Arts challenge those links in order to find ways of exploring new paths and ventures”. As an Irish-speaking family living in Dublin, we grew up in a society in which we felt alienated. For the most part, we wouldn’t let on that we were Irish speakers. So for me, this exhibition was ‘taking a stand’. “ó nach labhrann lucht na gaoise, labhraimse”. I put 2 different titles on all the works, one in Irish, one in English. I knew that not everyone would understand all the references but the work could be understood at several different levels – personal, political, cultural, spiritual... It was wonderful at the official opening to hear people discussing the meanings of the titles and remembering half-forgotten words in Irish that they had learnt in childhood. While working on this project, I met up with the poet, Ciarán Ó Coigligh and invited him to respond to the art with his poetry. “Aiséirí”, a magnificent suite of poems, was the result of this collaboration and he presented them to the public for the first time at the official opening of “Requiem” at Kilmainham Gaol on the 25th of April, 2005. Later on a book entitled “Aiséirí/Requiem” was produced to commemorate this collaboration. This book was short listed for the Oireachtas Leabhar na Bliana Award in 2007. You can read more about it on the Oireachtas website, which can be accessed from my ‘links’ page. |
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The East Wing, Kilmainham Gaol The work was installed behind locked doors in 24 cells on the ground floor |