A film installation by Ailbhe Ní Bhriain with sound by Susan Stenger

This film takes the location of a working limestone quarry and through a combination of slow motion drone footage and computer generated imagery, transforms it into a site of dreamlike theatricality.

Shot in the blue limestone quarry at Old Leighlin Co. Carlow, the film is built around a series of extended shots, tracking the walls of exposed rock. Deliberately framed to disorientate, these images trace the deep-time of geological sequences as they overlap with sprayed industrial codes and the scars left by machinery on the rock surfaces. These long tracks are punctuated by interior scenes, filmed within the quarry’s empty factory and rendered as a series of unlikely stage-sets. Integral to the work is Susan Stenger’s layered soundtrack, which was developed from a study of the patterns of Morse code and the traditional tunes and phrases of Irish keening.

Originally commissioned as a response to the Brian O’ Doherty’s abstract wall painting One Here Now at Sirius Arts Centre, Ailbhe Ní Bhriain’s film obliquely references O’Doherty’s compositional elements and draws on the multilayered contemplation of place, time and inscription found within his work.

About the Artist:
Ailbhe Ní Bhriain is an Irish artist working with film and photography. Recent and upcoming solo exhibitions include Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, Dublin (2018); Sirius Arts Centre, Cork (2018); Domobaal Gallery, London (2017); The Dock, Carrick-on Shannon (2017); Galway International Arts Festival (2017). Ailbhe is represented by Domobaal Gallery, London and teaches at the Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork.

CREDITS:
Sound: Susan Stenger
Cameras: Feargal Ward/ Jonathan Sammon
Vfx/Compositing: Stephen O’Connell / Looks Loud
Colour Grade: Donal O’Kane/ Screen Scene

Associated Events:
Quarry Tour – James Walsh Quarry, Old Leighlin
Saturday 16th March, 11am (Free)
A tour of the Irish Blue Limestone quarry where the film Inscriptions (One here now) was shot. Take a tour behind the scenes of one of Carlow’s most impressive niche industrial sites.

Commissioned by Miranda Driscoll for Sirius Arts Centre for One Here Now, the Brian O’Doherty / Patrick Ireland Project. Supported by the Arts Council Open Call Award 2018.  With thanks to Domobaal Gallery, London.For more on One Here Now, the Brian O’ Doherty/Patrick Ireland Project see http://www.siriusartscentre.ie/