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Indepth Arts News:
"Cult of Engagement : Clodagh Emoe"
2009-12-18 until 0000-00-00
Project Arts Centre
Dublin, ,
IE Ireland
Clodagh Emoe's solo exhibition Cult of Engagement continues her pre-occupation with mapping the in-between space which she manifests through her drawings, sculptural objects, installation, video works and events.
If there was to be one overseeing eye which has been watching the chorus, stage and audience of Clodagh Emoe's Cult of Engagement, it would be spirit of the cross-roads, Papa Legba.
The gathered elements within the exhibition - 'The Approach',
'Azimuth' and 'Parados' - may appear to take historically
recognisable roles; a stage resembling travelling adaptations of
Greek Theatre during the twilight of its form, or the Chorus,
looming out of the semi-darkness, echoing an ancient role of
revelation and discourse. Papa Legba, who was called upon to
open communications between the deities and the people, was able
to speak all known languages and controlled the doorway of
communication at the spiritual crossroads. Some of this attitude
has found its place in Emoe's atmospheric installation, which at
once reveals a route of procession and at the same time removes
any presence of performance. If one were to enter through 'The
Approach' - a large, perforated curtain - and call to Papa Legba
for advice, the silence of his reply would only heighten the
unnerving sense of expectation in the room, an expectation
underlined by a low, reverberating, sound.
This sound which fills the room is part of the event approach to
exhibition making that Emoe has followed in the months leading
towards her newly commissioned solo exhibition at Project Arts
Centre, attempting to create a space where something is bound to
take place. The artist has been informed by a history of
ritualistic induction and theatrical devices as channels that
can herald a community as something other than a limited
audience. 'Azimuth', a round, wooden stage with carved and
stained markings are flanked by a by series of flags - petrified
as monuments of kairos, a concept used by the ancient Greeks to
describe time that is neither chronological nor representable,
but that spans an event or action. The markings on this stage
remind us of the messages and meaning that are meant to be
delivered to a spectator, beyond the capabilities of human
perception. Through aerial archaeology we can listen to the
thoughts of the past, with marks made on the land still speaking
in supplication to the unknown greatness of whatever was thought
to be watching. This is the context into which an unannounced
chorus emerges slowly out of the twilight of the magic hour,
becoming present in the space where we least expect them.
In the early days of Greek tragedy the Chorus would enter the
space of theatre through the paradoi, stage-flanking
processional routes. They had evolved from the Dithyrambic
chorus, who were a band of transformed people, for whom social
histories and civic positions were consciously and entirely
forgotten in the worship of Dionysus. As Greek tragedy developed, the role of the chorus moved to the periphery of the activity,
although their position became more influential. They were a
united body, able to reveal elements of truth, unknown as yet by
the actors themselves. Thus the chorus were the eyes and the
mirror of the audience, able to see in, around, and through the
action taking place on the stage. 'Parados', the chorus of Cult
of Engagement , has a more ambiguous character - it is united in
silence and like an unreadable congregation, indecipherable in
its purpose - neither revealing, nor concealing.
Clodagh Emoe is a Dublin-based artist and research scholar at The
Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media.
Curated by Tessa Giblin
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Access:
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