
On site exhibition Saturday 20 May 12-5pm
This time a site visit to Barnavave, just above Carlingford, where I’ve been invited by artist Suzanne Carroll to participate in a site specific exhibition on the mountain side among the remains of a deserted village, abandoned for almost a century at this point.
Some hard facts – and thank you Suzanne for doing the research leg work on this-
Barnavave – Bearna Meidhbhe – Maeve’s Gap
named in tribute to Queen Meabh of Connacht who passed through here in her pursuit of the Brown Bull of Cooley – as detailed in the Tain Bo Cuailnge.
Barnavave Summit is composed of dark coarse-grained gabbro rock, dated to 61.5 million years ago
The village:
deserted since the 1930’s
According to Griffiths Valuation 1858
Occupants included
Edward Maguire, 2 acres
Bernard Flynn 1/4 acre
Patrick Donnelly 1/4 acre
All plots were freehold, no landlord
The signs of a wicker chimney breast and high threshold stones in the Maguire house suggest it was built centuries earlier.
There is a Medieval sweat house, possibly originally Bronze Age
The Giants Grave – Neolithic passage grave
I will be making some work in response to the site.
Initial impressions and evocations:
Thorn
Fairy thorn
Blackened thorn
Gorse wyn bush
Copper ferric
Bronze amulets talisman- hidden in rocks
Burnt bone blackened wood potato flour
Tunnels undergrowth in bushes
Rabbit runs
Mossy paths- soft turf
Clearing space : cutting brambles burning bushes
Farming – land animal -inter generational
Village- people – clinging to the mountain as long as possible
Tain Bo Cuailnge – the hunt, the chase, the running battle
the running battle of life in a harsh environment, keeping the spark going,
relentless, breathless, hounds in pursuit,
breathe in breathe out
inhale exhale
Breath work –
burnt bone blackened wood held together with potato glue
stencils, bone, ground charcoal, potato starch
The exhibition is curated by Shannon Carroll and includes work from Una Curley, Grainne Murphy, Mel Galley, Suzanne Carroll, Aine Ryan, Deborah Corcoran, Rosie O’Reilly and Erin Redmond