Proposal for a live durational performance exhibition.
Working title: Sheela-Ni-Gig
(above image; Tullaroan Sheela, Co. Kilkenny, found in 1992,
in the possession of Noel Coogan, the artist’s Uncle.
Dimesions: 75(h)X35(w)X25(B))
Description:
A longditudinal live performance in the sculpture hall in the Hugh Lane gallery, made in conjunction with the Sheela-na-Gig sculptures borrowed from the National Museum of Ireland. The sculptures will be placed on the floor, leaning against the walls of the hall. The Artist will perform amid and with the sculptures. The room should be dimly lit.
National Museum of Ireland
The Live Performance:
The artist will crawl or walk around the oval room carrying the Sheelas on her back. The process of development for this new piece of work is open and fluid at this stage. This will not be a sensationalised exploration of the Sheelas but an investigation of the heritage of the female image in Ireland.
The core of this exhibition is the longditudinal durational performance, 2 to 3 weeks in lenght. (this will be clarified closer to the date in conjunction with the Gallery).
The performance will be tableaux vivant with the artist following the opening hours of the gallery and performing for the full duration; 10am – 6pm/10am – 5pm/11am-5pm.
Documentation:
There will be no documentation of the performance on exhibition, allowing for a focus on the purity of the live moment. In the times when the artist is not present in live performance the piece will be relayed to the audience by the invigilators, the Sheelas will still be present. Each invigilator may choose their own way to 'document' the performance; by verbally retelling it, or showing video or photography of the performance captured on their mobile phone.
In the run up to the live performance I will be making a series of work around this investigation and will have a plethora of images that may be used for catalogue/press. I will document the performance outside of the public viewing times for archive and post-performance usage but want to keep the a clarity of what Peggy Phelan calls the ‘manically charged present’ for the exhibition.
The Sheela-na-Gigs:
‘Sheela-na-Gigs are figurative stone carvings of naked females, typically depicted as standing or squatting in a position generally described as an ‘act of display’. Sometimes they are shown with thighs widely splayed and often one or both hands are shown pointing to, or touching, the genitalia – deliberately accentuating the focus upon this part of the anatomy. To further emphasise this aspect of the carving, the vulva or genitals are often over-exagerated in startling detail. It is extraordinary that Sheela-na-Gigs are most commonly found as a form of church ornament. They are often built into the fabric of medieval churches, in some cases being placed over the doorway.’ Joanne McMahon & Jack Roberts, The Sheela-na-Gigs of Ireland and Britain, Mercer press, 2000.
Conceptual references:
As a female artist using my body as a primary tool, the presence of the Sheela is an uncontestable influence. With 18 months development for this piece still ahead the task is to get behind the mystery of the Sheelas. This live performance will not mimick them literally visually but look to their power. Confronting the representation of the female body I will be looking at the weight of their history in this context.
Their will be a layering of influences in the final piece.Some of the concerns , at this stage, are: The Sheela’s placement in religous settings is a curiosity and how that may sit in the light of what has been exposed by the Ryan and Murphy reports. And from contemporary practice key nodes of reference will be Abramovic’s Nude with Skeleton and Schneemann’s Interior scroll.
In 1992 my fathers Family found a Sheela amid rubble they had collected to build a wall on the farm. I was then a young art student and sat for days drawing and taking rubbings from this Tullaroan Sheela in my Uncle’s front room in Kilkenny.
Borrowing the Sheelas from the National Museum:
I have visited the archive in the National Museum to view their Sheelas.
To borrow the Sheelas a letter must be sent from Director to Director, from Barbara to Pat Wallace, and c.c’ed to Ned Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities seeking the feasibility of borrowing the 9 sheelas in their collection, 7 in storage and 2 on permenant display. This process can take up to 18 months.
When the lending process has been formalised I can then request to make replicas of the stones, following their guidelines. This is a sensitive and delicate process and would have to be done following strict antiqity guidelines. The replicas can then be cast in a fibreglass/rubber mixture, coloured following the stone of the original but lighter in weight, allowign for performance handling.
The Tullaroan Sheela, pictured above, is in my familys possession and is, conceptually and emotionally, a central piece for the exhibition.
Budget items:
- Borrowing and transportation of the Sheelas
- Craddling/support for the Sheelas in the sculpture hall
- Replication process for the Sheelas
- Invigilators/documentors
- Costume
- Live performance fee
RSS Feed