Pallas Projects - Cóilín O’Connell and Michelle Doyle

Cóilín O’Connell and Michelle Doyle—Super Gairdín

Opening reception: 6–8pm Thursday 13th October
Register here
Exhibition continues: Friday 14th– Saturday 29th October
Gallery open: 12–6pm, Thursday–Saturday

Pallas Projects/Studios are pleased to present Cóilín O’Connell and Michelle Doyle—Super Gairdín the seventh exhibition of our 2022 Artist-Initiated Projects programme.

Is fís-shaothar nua é Super Gairdín le beirt ealaíntóirí, Cóilín O’Connell agus Michelle Doyle a bhaineann le spioraid dhiaga, tírdhreach, le teanga agus le nádúr. Ag tógáil ar an tradisiún uafáis sa bhéaloideas, tá an scannán suite in ionad gairdín iargulta áit ina bhfuil athrú ar bith ar an tírdhreach go deo na ndeor. Tá duine ag spastóireacht tríd na pásaistí de chrainnte óga nuair a chasann sé ar bhandia clocha a ndearnadh dearmad uirthi le fada an lá- an Chaillleach. Tá sé de bhua aici láidreacht an nádúir a chur ar a toil agus carraigeacha a chaitheamh as a naprún. Déanann sí machnamh ar na scéalta a cumadh fúithí sa seanchas agus an deacracht a bhaineann lena cuid cumhachtaí a chur in iúl trí mhéan an Bhéarla. Caitheann sí súil nimhneach ar an gcine daonna agus ní fada nó go mbainfidh sí díoltas amach air.

Sa scannán déantar iniúchadh ar dhéanamh na healaíona trí mhéan na Gaeilge. Is é an chéad scannán dátheangach ó O’Connell agus Doyle. Sa Stráitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge de chuid an Rialtas, sainmhínítear riarachán, oideachas agus teicneolaíocht mar réimsí gnímh, ach ní phlétear tacaíocht do na healíona ná do chúltúr. Ní dhéanann an rialtas trácht ar an tacaíocht a chuirfear ar fáil d’fhísealaíon nó do cheol trí mhéan na Gaeilge agus iad ag iarraidh dul i dtreo sochaí dátheangach. Is é tuairim Super Gairdín gurbh í an Ghaeilge an teanga fhíorfe le haghaidh táirgeadh cruthaíochta a dhéanamh agus saothair ealaíne nua a thriall. Roghnaíodh an píosa le déanaí le haghaidh Shiollabas Gaeilge an Teastais Shóisearaigh don bhliain seo chugainn. ____

Super Gairdín is a new video work by artists Cóilín O’Connell and Michelle Doyle about divine spirits, landscape, language and nature. Taking cues from the folk horror tradition, the film is set in a desolate garden centre, a space where landscape is held indefinitely. A figure wanders the aisles of saplings, chancing upon a long forgotten rock deity; the Cailleach. The Cailleach is capable of great forces, summoning nature at will and throwing rocks from her apron. She contemplates the various narratives that surround her existence in lore and the difficulty of translating her powers into Béarla. She views mankind with hatred and will soon enact her revenge.

The film explores art making through Irish and is the first bilingual piece by O’Connell and Doyle. In the Irish government’s 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language (2010-2030) policy, they define administration, education and technology as being areas of action, yet do not discuss support for arts and culture. The government fails to outline support of visual art or music through the medium of Irish in their move towards a bilingual society. Super Gairdín posits Irish as a perfect language for cultural production and artistic experimentation. Recently the video piece was selected for next year’s junior cert syllabus for Irish.

Michelle Doyle is an artist and musician based in Ireland, working through sound, performance, set design and moving image. Her work is concerned with subculture, politics, technology, freedom and communities. She uses automatic writing as part of her practice; including collected data, manifestos and other written ephemera in order to create confrontational spoken performances. Doyle performs with sound group, The Healers and solo as Rising Damp.

Doyle is a resident artist in Fire Station Studios in Dublin and is supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.

Cóilín O’Connell (b.1990) is a visual artist from Dublin. His interdisciplinary practice has seen him adopt the methods of archivists, hoarders, archaeologists, pamphleteers and bootleggers to explore knowledge production and narrative building. He uses image making, field work, research and writing as the basis for making works in video, installation, print and publication.

Eimear Keating - Voice of an Cailleach/Glór na Caillí @eimearkeating @thejealouswall
John Barrett - The Man/An Fear @john.barrett.798278
Sean Fitzgerald - Tour Guide/Treoraí turais @thedeadlians
Text edited by Eva Richardson McCrea/Eva Richardson McCrea a rinne eagarthóireacht ar an téasc @evageorgeevageorge
Ross Coleman - Irish Translation/Aistriúchán Gaeilge
Emma Conway - Lettering, Graphic Design/litreoireacht, dearadh grafach @em_connie
Jennifer Moore - Soundtrack/Fuaimrian @jenn_dream_cycles
Diarmuid MacDiarmada - performer, arranger and producer of ‘The Greenwood Sidee’/Is é Diarmuid MacDiarmada a sheinn, a chóirigh agus a léirigh ‘The Greenwood Sidee’ @diarmuid_macdiarmada

Special Thanks to/Buíochas ar leith do:
Sarah Simpson @sarahsimpsongardens
Padraig Tully

Artist-Initiated Projects at Pallas Projects/Studios is an open-submission, annual gallery programme of 8 x 3-week exhibitions taking place from March-November 2022. This unique programme of funded, artist-initiated projects selected via open call is highly accessible to artists, with a focus on early career, emerging artists and recent graduates. Projects are supplemented with artists' talks, texts, workshops or performances, and gallery visits by colleges and local schools.

Image description: 1. A graphic with a large green text reading: Super Gairdín. Underneath the text there is an abstract shape that might suggest a natural object.
2. A graphic with large beige text reading: Cóilín O’Connell and Michelle Doyle 13/10/22- 29/10/22. In the lower part there is a large blue inverted text reading: Artist Initiated Projects 2022. In the middle of the graphic there is a logo of Pallas Projects/Studios showing letters PP/S on the black square. The background is light mint green.