We Are All Connected
2019, Dublin, Ireland
Mixed media, gold leaf
70cm (H) x 200cm (W) x 150cm (L)
In the past, emigration was perceived as inevitable for many generations of the Irish, and between 1841 and 1925 4.7 million Irish emigrants went to the USA. We are all connected, 2019, brings together multiple stories to form links between diverse individuals who may not realise how much they have in common: Joining two groups of people - those of various ethnicities who have recently migrated to Ireland or are second generation migrants to Ireland, with those of Irish heritage who have migrated and settled around the world. They tell their stories or their ancestors stories of migration. Here these two groups express similar themes in terms of marginalisation, displacement, longing, loss of culture, loss of language, and a sense of camaraderie within new communities of ‘others’.
This text sculpture highlighted that these individuals often feel they live life in between two places - they have crossed both physical and mental borders. Some have moved by choice and economic migration, and some have been forced to move due to war or other circumstances outside of their control. Although there is a big difference between these two types of migration, both can give insight into the intangible, unspoken forces of home, borders, place, duality and otherness. It was important to find out the human side of their story - in contrast to impersonal reports about migration statistics.
The artwork includes stories of people who are currently seeking asylum in Ireland. Many of these refugees expressed a sense of imprisonment when their rights were lost in their home countries, and in many cases also since arriving in Ireland if they have not been granted asylum in society yet.
This artwork was commissioned by The Centre For Creative Practices, and invited to exhibit in New Voices of Ireland 2019.
