Us (& It)

This installation of video, photographs and sculpture examines the tension between distance and closeness within the idea of the family. Using strategies of repetition and variation I explored the physical and psychological landscape I come from. In Western philosophy the idea of an autonomous ‘Self’ or identity is central, defined as being distinct from its environment, objects, and other people (Others) who are knowable only to a certain degree. But the people in our family are not fully ‘Other’ from us -they are part of us, and we are part of them. This can be grounding, but also deeply unsettling. That intimacy of blood relation (or growing up together) can be uncomfortable, especially when the patterns of behaviour or the DNA that you reflect in each other are in some way flawed or broken. I have a complex relationship with my family, as well as Northern Ireland where I come from. Much of my life is governed by a tension between distance and closeness, being here or being there, belonging or being free, belonging or being alone. (Thanks to Textile Technician Liz Pead)