Split the Curlew and you'll find the music. | Irish Artist's Film Index

Split the Curlew and you'll find the music.

Paul Murnaghan


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Artist's biography

Paul Murnaghan

Contributors

Linenhall ASrts Centre supported and funded the work.

Description

While on the Bolay Residency at Linenhall Arts Centre last year, I published a question in a local newspaper, ‘Where do you go?’. Castlebar has a diverse population who call this town home for many different reasons. The answers could take any form, memory, place, food, song, ritual, hope, lie. Replies came as video (in studio), audio, email and anonymous words. For those not fond of cameras, avatars spoke their words. I repurposed on-line corporate training software and used it for as long as possible. These avatars allowed the process to evolve and I began to see them as digital migrants, their culture so different from ours, the fear that they're taking our jobs or that they are somehow dangerous. Their presence heightened the question of where we might find comfort in truthless times and led me to infusing two entirely separate histories of Castlebar. The walk from the cottage to my studio was 23 minutes and I walked this each day with my camera, capturing moments of interest. The video is 23 minutes long, like the viewer walked with me. The videos take the form of a synced diptych. At emotive moments one of the videos expands its aspect ratio to shine specific colour on to a Disco Ball and bath the room in light. The main screen is 16:9 landscape, the side screen is the same, except turned to portrait. The top of the side screen contains a Disco ball.


Screenings

  • 2024 — Linenhall Arts Centre, July 19th - August 31st 2024

Reading


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Details
Title

Split the Curlew and you'll find the music.

Year

2024

Tags
walk, avatar, AI, BELIEF, refugee, hope, loss, animism
Language

English

Duration

00:23:00

Original formats

Digital HD

Screening formats

Digital HD

Aspect ratio

16:9

Colour

Colour

Supported by Kildare County Council Arts Service, and Visual Artists Ireland.
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