Off the back of ‘The Disappearance’ project, I started to think about people involved in religious structures and the responsibility of being in that position. I didn’t feel like I had much access to explore a position like that and I genuinely wasn’t interested in being negative towards anybody’s beliefs. I decided to create my own religion so that I could access and explore those in a position of responsibility in a religious organisation. It was called ‘The Grey Temple’ and I produced a few art outcomes based on this exploration three of which are detailed below.
Performance IMMA (2021);
Focused on the responsibility of the leaders of religious structures. This piece already took place as a performance at the outdoor Pavillion at IMMA on June 25th 2021. It was a study on the competence, confidence and arrogance of people involved in areas of responsibility in religions.
The character of the religion’s creator walks among the attendees in a trance-like state. He tries to convince them of the merits of joining his religion. There is a soundtrack of AI intermittently talking over him, stating that he is a liar. When this happens, the religion’s leader starts a process of guilt convulsions until he gets himself back into a trance-like state again. This process is repeated numerous times during the performance.
Below is a clip from the Performance at IMMA, Duration 4:24,
Full Performance, 15:00 min.
The Grey Temple, Video Installation (2021);
In this latest work, a religion is established on the idea that there is a deity that can speak through the internet. It promises immortality when humans are able to upload maps of their memory aligning them with machines.
In the installation, we encounter an altercation between the human priest that sets up the religion and an artificially intelligent agent that is challenging the priest’s ability to communicate with this deity through the internet. Artificial intelligence challenges the very existence of the deity and the relevance of the religion. Video, HD, 9.07 Min.
‘The Grey Temple’ connects to my general practice, which often tests the discourse around difficult heritage themes and attempts to pre-empt trends when dealing with the actions of current power structures, institutions and techno-social environments. The work also highlights my interest in the struggles of the vulnerable in societal systems.
The Burden of Imagination, Video (2022);
The work is a non-narrative questioning of how humans communicate and search for meaning. The piece also highlights the verbal, non-verbal and often symbolic use of human communication taken while trying to satisfy our imaginations.
It explores from an outermost viewing point, our human desire to follow paths in life and the structures that form around these journeys. By taking an outsider’s view, I am trying to unlock a new understanding of our relationship with structured religions and dogma in general.
I had already dealt with the damaging and controlling effects of certain institutions in other works. In this project I looked at select people’s relationship with Dogma and how there may be no visible institution involved, but how strong levels of both support, control and in some cases damage do exist. I researched different cult and communal practices to delve into areas such as; open relationships, instances of incarceration, self-incarceration, amateur psychology and control.
This project is a reflection on the frustrations, anxieties and concerns of the individual in an environment where there is an active search for belonging or something other than the social norms that they already live in.
