Suchergebnisse

This brief article explains the non-hierarchical listing of all 'Troubles' deaths in the inclusive Irish Linen Memorial (renamed The Linen Memorial in 2007) - killings for which various persons/groups on either side of the political divide, as well as the security forces, were responsible. The artwork-memorial can be read as an anti-monument. The Linen Memorial (hereafter LM) acts as a 'modest witness' in reordering relationships and engaging a parity of esteem between Nationalist/Republican ('Catholic') and Loyalist/Unionist ('Protestant') communities during the post-1998 period when Northern Ireland is emerging from conflict. The use of the linen handkerchief as symbolic for heartfelt grief was what inspired me to use it, as a building block, to create a non-traditional and mobile memorial to those killed in the sectarian violence, commonly called The Troubles, in Northern Ireland.

Strategies used in interdisciplinary needlework-textiles in public installation-performance are outlined. My paper discusses the particulars of my Irish Linen Memorial, begun in 2001, Justine Merritt's Ribbon around the Pentagon, 1982-85, and Suzanne Lacy's The Crystal Quilt, 1987. I discuss the sculptural use of textiles in public space and ritual, such as their historically political use as banners, as well as creations symbolic of the interconnectedness of life. More currently, textiles metaphorically illustrate violence and trauma inflicted upon the body, loss of life and the rupture of the fabric of social order which war involves. Cloth can be used as a reminder of displaced persons, the migrant identity and the plea for global stability. My collaboration with choreographer-dancer, Elizabeth Cameron-Dalman, OAM, is an example of international collaboration between Australia and Canada, on the issue of Northern Ireland's sectarian violence, 1969-2000.