05-27.04.2018
A statue or a ghost?
I stood in front of the house overlooking the fort everyday throughout the event for 22 days. Except when I interacted with people. Below is the view I had from where I was standing. As people were visiting the fort they would see the houses and me in front, motionless, until the moment when they were in a straight line across me. Only then I played the gong. Interestingly, many people looked at their watch and were disorientated. Some came to have a closer look and were amazed I was a person, not a statue.
One to one spoken word performance
When I first came to the fort, I felt heaviness. The horrific history seemed to be still in the air (find out more in the link below). The fort was used by Gardai (police) at a later stage but eventually was given back to the public. It has absolutely amazing panoramic views of the city and leads to a closer view of St. Finbarr’s Cathedral. I occupied the space of two houses (which used to belong to a sergeant, I was told by an ex-policeman who visited the place and went into a state of reminiscence). The houses are very old, sort of abandoned and not available to the public unless there is an exhibition held there. The mould is covering every nook, the wall is peeling off the ceiling, the dust settles. It has really old school colours and emanates the feeling of old. Some people found the houses a bit creepy, and thought I was a ghost. I made them feel at ease when I gave them a smile, a one - to - one poem performance and a lovely cup of tea to bring them into a ritualistic mood. Also, the sounds spreading around the house, vibrating through the walls gave a sense of ease. Either it was through Maria Minguella’s live gong playing or a soundtrack of the forest sounds I played, which were spreading from the top floor of the house. On a sunny day, Maria would take her gongs outside and one person I know who lives near St.Finbarrs said she heard the gongs in her house! Powerful. Really powerful.
Procession Journey Performance
I felt this space on many different levels and levitated between ideas. I desperately wanted to do a performance in a form of a procession involving moving people around the fort and exposing them to versatile acoustics. I also wished I could do a projection on the wall. The latter one was too difficult to sort out logistically by myself. I keep flying solo and without funding. It is hard. I asked around some people I knew who could make it happen but the timing was not right. In my ideal world that would have been included but I still decided to go ahead with what I had. The dynamic between people I encountered and the place itself was not ambiguous. The procession needed to happen. The preparations were rather spontaneous but the idea was old. I just needed to adjust it to the space. Luckily it was not raining but it was a bit chilly and windy. I had a lovely intimate group of people. I am very glad I decided to do it. It would not be possible if not for the amazing help and generosity streaming from Elizabeth Fort wardens: Jillian and Stephen who went the extra mile to help me out. We finished off with a warming tea, using the beautiful cups from La Table Belge. People love choosing their cups and I was unaware that this in itself could be fun. Always learning.
Maria Minguella is a lady of many talents. She found me through the Safety.Sanctuary. event in St.Peter’s. We worked together on the next event for Cork Becoming the City of Sanctuary. That is not the only thing she is involved in though. She is a composer and a sound therapist. She has many wonderful instruments, gongs among others. I really wanted her to join me in Elizabeth Fort and she did. She gonged out the place for good! Not only did people hear it but also the surroundings and it went deep into the walls of the fort too.
