I use performance to explore more autobiographical elements and personal experiences with Irish vernacular beliefs, specifically the Otherworld. Contemporary ideas of the Irish Otherworld are sourced from a text by the Irish writer, Manchán Magan (1970-2025) whose work focuses on the intersection of culture, ecology and ancestral memory. In his book Thirty-Two Words for Field (2020), Magan explains that the Irish Otherworld is much more than an imaginary realm; it is an important concept that connects people with the natural world, religious beliefs and ancestors – all at the same time. Ancestral connection is important to me I am the first person in my Irish family to be born in Australia.

I am also strongly interested in the shared colonial history between Ireland and New South Wales. The formal quality of the costume as derived from research into the phenomenon of the widow's curse in mid-nineteenth century Ireland. The employment of a curse is emblematic of magic being used as a form of colonial resistance when all other avenues have failed.

Six key video stills were selected and digitally printed onto a metallic substrate.

References:

Quinn, E. Moore. "'All I Had Left Were my Words': The Widow's Curse in Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Ireland" in Women Reform and Resistance in Ireland 1850-1950, edited by Christina S. Brophy and Cara Delay. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

The Blindboy Podcast, "Mythology, rewilding forests and indigenous knowledge with Manchán Magan." Audio recording, 9 Aug 2023. Duration 1 hour 37 minutes. Link.