Project Description
The LandLines Trilogy consists of three durational, site specific, performance art works, which have been made in 3 outdoor locations in County Clare during 2022. These works are a development of my performative practice, further exploring endurance based actions and the land.
The artistic intention of this body of work:
To explore further the relationship of the body with the action and with the site. To experience the actions of walking, crawling, pulling and dragging. How it will feel to complete the tasks- during and after- physical and mental. Whether a state of flow will be achieved. Highlighting the earth as we inhabit it now, as an act of documentation, and our relative insignificance but similarly the continuing desecration our human presence metes out on our environment. These works are a progression of sorts from a previous body of work; I Need To Be Ready.
Work 1: Tide Map
A durational public performance which lasted 6.5 hours.
Description of performance:
This is a time based work, based around the shifting tide. By walking along at the edge of the water as the tide comes in, over and back along the full length of the beach, the tide is mapped. This is done for as long as possible, staying at the edge of the water, during the 6 hours of the incoming tide until the tide is fully ‘in’. The artist accompanies the sea as it travels in on its journey. The performance was filmed throughout.
Importance of the site:
The Flaggy shore beach is a contained beach, and quite a negotiable space to travel along, jelly fish and rocks allowing. The shifting tide line is visible as it travels up the beach. The full tide is very apparent as the water reaches the back wall of the beach. There is a back wall and above this, a parking area at the side of the road where you can park. This is where filming and documentation could occur.
The performative action:
The goal was to complete 6 hours of performance, accompanying the tide over the 6 hours as it changes from low to high tide.
To consider: Energy never dies, it’s just shifted into another form. There are multiple elements in motion in the work: the earth is turning, causing the tidal shift of the ocean. The water is moving up and down the beach The artist is moving up and down in line with the tide. All are cogs in a larger mechanism.
The performance is:
An act of attendance,
An act of witnessing.
An act of accompaniment.
An act of endurance.
An act of observation.
The images and video link seen here are from a trial performance of Tide Map, which was performed on the 30th June 2021 from 4am to 11am. The site for the performance was the Flaggy Shore Beach, Newquay, Co Clare. The images are courtesy of Paul Corey
(youtube link to video of trial performance of Tide Map)
Work 2: Field Mark
A durational performance which lasted 90 minutes.
This work took place in a field near my home, which a local farmer kindly allowed me to use. The timing of this work was crucial s it had to be made before the field was cut for hay, in other words while the grass was still long.
Description of the performance action: The artist positioned themself in the middle fo the field, and started to crawl around in a circular pattern, making a circle, so that the crawl path left the grass underneath flattened temporarily, so as creating a pattern, similar to a crop circle. Each time a circle was completed the artist would slightly alter their path so as to enlarge the circle. This was continued over a period of 90 minutes.
Importance of Venue:
The rural field as venue was integral to the work. Growing the grass out in a field means the grass is intended for grazing, or for silage or hay. So for farming use for animal agriculture, either meat or dairy.
Documenting the work: The action was recorded from 2 viewpoints, – the lowdown crawl through the grass from artists viewpoint, obtained by wearing a gopro head camera, and an overhead overall view, possibly from a drone, so the circle can be seen emerging in the grass.
Intention of the work: An act of subversion- crop circles are sometimes thought to be attributed to UFO’s. A rural field whose use is agricultural represents the consumerist and machinated nature of modern farming. Again considering the concept that energy never dies, it shifts into another form. The elements in motion in the work: the planet turns, causing the air currents to move, which causes the grass to sway in the wind. The artist crawls along, pushing through the grass on top of the earth, making a temporary mark. Two opposing yet harmonious energy sources.
Work 3: Field Mark
A durational performance which lasted 90 minutes.
This work is funded by The Arts Council Ireland
