Invited by visual artist Fiona Gannon to produce a sound piece for the performance I Sí, seeking out the spirit world (‘Sí’/‘Sidhe’ in Irish) through story-telling and music at the boundary and stage of the Ha‑Ha, at Phoenix Park, on 31st October 2018.
‘I sh- sh- sh- Sí’, said Gopher as, after having burrowed his way out of the Otherworld and gazing into Pooh Bear’s still black eyes, he found himself losing his bearings, tumbling once more into that placeless space from which he had so narrowly escaped. The Otherworld, or spirit world, bears a relationship to the ground as the sidhe are also mounds, as in fairy or burial mounds. It is supposed to be closest at dusk and at Samhain. Before, the filí (‘poets’ in Irish, but also ‘seers’) had the job of being mediators. This involved a ritual where they would get half‑drunk and perform a chant or song on a boundary, a liminal place, so that the gods and spirits would send them knowledge. What is the relationship between spacing out and the architecture of a stage? How does staging relate to the spectral?
More information here about Fiona Gannon’s book: Into the Dark with the Light On
Photo credits: Jamin Keogh