The Rope That Binds Us Makes Them Free
Nigel Rolfe
Contributors
Meirt Avis: Editor
Declan Quinn: Camera
Jim Butler : Sound
JJ Rolfe: Mastering and Archive.
Synopsis
This work consists of three sections: Rope; Traditional Irish Dancing; Water in Face. All three sections act as cultural carriers and metaphors of particular Irish signifiers and references.
ROPE - Wrapping the head in a large found ball of creosote-covered sisal twine. The rope itself is an indigenous found artefact (native Irish farming archaeology) about harvest and loss. Suffocation, smothering, entrapped.
DANCE - This champion Irish dancer is the cultural centre point or fulcrum. Dance as freedom and grounded literally and culturally, yet at the same time restricted and repressed.
WATER - Water in the face is an anointment and a drowning both. 'Across the water', a phrase Ireland uses to describe the world outside its island shores.
Concept & Technique
Screenings
Details
Title
The Rope That Binds Us Makes Them Free
Year
1983
Key phrases
work made live, action artist, performance, Irish culture, dancing, rope, water
Duration
00:15:50
Original formats
U-Matic
Screening formats
Digital HD
Aspect ratio
4:3
Colour
Colour
Sound
Yes
