‘A Future Distant Memory Calls’ is a new body of film and sculpture works produced by Dublin artist Laura Skehan, which opens at Roscommon Arts Centre this Friday (August 25th).
Skehan extracts moments of time and myth, notions of progress and explores materiality within the physical landscape to illustrate the impact agriculture, colonialism, architecture, climate and the quest for knowledge has had on the relationship of the human and non-human, of nature and technology, and of culture and science.
Inspired by the rock and hydrological cycles, Skehan asks, without a cohesive timeline, what is our relationship to the earth around us? This exhibition also features collaborations, including hand-painted tarot cards by artist Serena Caulfield.
The soundtrack for the film A Drowning Melted Persistent Memory has been made with contributions from with three international composers, Clíona Ní Laoi, Masaya Ozaki and Banu Çiçek Tulu, who produced sonic responses to Skehan’s 2022 sound works made using plant data collected in Ireland and abroad.
Laura’s practice focuses on the relationship between human and non-human entities in the landscape, prompting phenomenological and philosophical questions about the human condition. Working predominantly in moving image, sound and sculpture installation, she explores how human-centric behaviours and technologies impose on the balance and harmony of this relationship.
Her current research examines modes of observation, collection and display of objects and organic material in public sites and institutions to discuss the volatility and fragility of our human relationship to the surrounding environment and unpack historical narratives of control, progress and ownership.
As part of the exhibition launch at Roscommon Arts Centre on Friday 25th, Laura Skehan has invited Clíona Ní Laoi to perform for the opening of A Future Distant Memory Calls. Clíona Ní Laoi is an Irish experimental artist working with sound based between Ireland and Berlin. Her work encompasses electroacoustic compositions, performances, installations, radio, and moving-image work.
A Future Distant Memory Calls opens at 6 pm on Friday 25th August and all are welcome to attend. The exhibition continues until October 21st.
