Material Memory, 2022,
film shot on super8mm
This project was my way of exploring our body’s relationship to land and place. In June of 1921, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would be divided, as the North would continue to be ruled by the U.K. Following the referendum in 2016, Brexit would exacerbate this divide, now turning the Island into two separate countries.
I became curious about the ways our bodies are in relation to land, and that when we draw unwanted boarders, how these barriers may also manifest within us. When we are disconnected from the land that is native to us, we may also disconnect from an essential part of ourselves.
My way of exploring this was by allowing my own body to inhabit different corners of this island — both north and south. I document my movements as I forage soil and clay from disparate places. The clay I forged from the ground would meld together to create objects for a metaphorical ceremony — in attempts to find new peace and reconcile old divides.