Caraig Bhréige
‘A rock of which no part is above water in any tide – but which is not far below the surface of the sea’
Reflecting on this beautiful Irish phrase, the two artists will be researching the nature of fragmented social memory and perception of recalled events. Memory is vital to experience, as we get older we recall events and experiences to make sense of our lives and decisions.
The older generation in our community and the insight they can give through their experiential memory are vital in our understanding of past and future actions. Using this rationale, we propose to engage with older members of the community to encourage them to share memories on past periods of social engagement as we share memories of ours. Their collaboration stems from a recognition of similar themes and time spent studying together on the BA in Visual Arts on Sherkin Island, 'We were delighted to have the opportunity to consider and challenge our own interrogation through the methodology of the other artist, to produce work by using different approaches and process.'
Lesley Cox and Deirdre Buckley Cairns completed an undergraduate degree in Visual Art with DIT, (Sherkin Island) in 2016 both achieving first class honours. In December 2017 they earned their Masters in Fine Art and Process in Crawford College of Art and Design. The artists work to date has had complimentary themes including embodiment and memory. Deirdre Buckley Cairns uses film, sculpture and installation as a poetic means to explore concepts of memory and embodiment throughout her body of work. Deirdre has found that in times of pain or trauma people often choose to remain silent, holding and carrying the pain inside our bodies. This is stored in a veiled nature, quite often a secret to oneself. However, our bodies need to be heard, to release these secrets, but they do so in code, through body language, gestures and movement. This work explores the nature of this secret sign language as we communicate with others. Lesley Cox oil paintings focus on the subtle bodily gestures and postures associated with remembered events. Lesley’s practice is informed by the intangible, ephemeral quality of memory often using recalled personal narrative and interpretations of recounted memories to investigate transitional spaces. Cox’s work addresses a number of issues relative to the relational process between bodies, traces, texts and place. Material objects often act as a trigger, a reflexive site of personal and collective mnemonic return, framing memory as a process of internalisation. Through collaboration we wish to intertwine different skillsets utilising the shared thematic of embodiment, gesture and memory. During this collaborative process between ourselves and in safe and managed collaboration with the wider community we wish to create work that will through a materialisation of these events and images synthesize the notion of a shared historical and social memory.
