Alex Conway - Pauline Clerkin - Margaret Byrne
performance text photos
Kilmainham Jail’s political iconography lends an aesthetic and a philosophical dimension to explorations of Irish identity and history, the jail is associated with the lives and deaths of political prisoners, figures which have over time gained a heroic and patriotic status. One performer who investigated the mythology around these men and who considers the experience of prison life in general during this performance is Dublin based artist Alex Conway. He challenges the idea of heroism, by dressing as a cowboy; denim jacket and jeans, cowboy boots, red t-shirt and Stetson, during the course of the performance he whistles the tune to the Johnny Cash song ‘Folsom Prison Blues’. By comparing Irish political rebels to cowboys Conway confronts the viewer with an uncomfortable image of lawlessness, disregard and careless abandon not normally associated with men such as Padraig Pearse, Joseph Plunkett and James Connolly.
One well known line from the song, “I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die” could be seen as a link between the myth of Irish republicanism; the cult of 1916 and the reality of this ideal being used to lend credibility to the violent actions of the IRA in Northern Ireland during the 1960s and 70s. In restoring the jail and creating a museum, the idea was to create a sensory and emotional experience in which the idea and tradition of heroism could be celebrated and also effectively questioned by visitors to the jail; Conway takes this one step further by giving the viewer a three dimensional interrogation of Irish history.
During the course of his performance, Conway paces, slowly and methodically around the cell where he remains enclosed for the four hour duration, at the beginning keeping his head low and concentrating on the pace and plod of his feet against the stone floor. Although the viewer is only able to observe him through the peep-hole which is on the front of the cell door, the ominous sound of his steps resound outside the cell and remind one of a prisoner’s walk of execution, the approaching steps of a guard or the echo of some other prisoner’s footsteps as they too pace their cell. This repeated and ritualized activity viewed in the context of the performance setting can be seen as a re-enactment of daily prison life, a hypnotic act that brings comfort and a degree of normality to an otherwise hellish situation.
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Conway explores the boredom and habitual compulsions which are a symptom of confinement, in the course of his pacing he stops in the middle of the back wall, turns his back to the viewer and walks backwards towards the door, stops in the middle of the room then leans back as if he has been shot, in slow-motion he returns to an upright position and continues pacing as if nothing has happened. The scene is reminiscent of one from a classic Wild West film, where a stand-off between two outlaws usually begins with each walking 40 paces from the other and ends in one or other being shot. It is said of performance artists that only during a performance are they truly alive, that for such an artist the mundane, observances of daily life constitute the real performance; viewing Conway’s actions in this way helps give one an idea of the extent to which being imprisoned modifies and distorts actions which would normally be taken for granted; for example walking and whistling, which in another context would be seen to be necessary or carefree actions, but during this performance seem haunting and eerie.
The effect of viewing this through a peephole gives Conway’s performance yet another layer, due to the volume of visitors present during the four hours it was necessary to queue in order to see the actions, which created the noise emanating from the locked cell. Conway’s whistling enticed the audience to join the always-lengthy queue, which created in itself a sense of mystery around the cell. In terms of the other performers, the queue also interrupted or adjusted the course of some who were trying to move freely around the space, perhaps bringing them in closer contact with the audience and with each other. In keeping with the idea of confinement and isolation, Conway does not have direct contact with any of the other performers, despite this however, the rationalist and utilitarian architecture of the building which engineered the space to inspire virtuous behavior in its inhabitants built gives the viewer a feeling that a pervading, all-seeing presence exists in the space. One can imagine prisoner’s sense of being observed and monitored at all time.
Another scene viewed in the middle of his performance shows Conway leaning against the wall in the right-hand corner of the cell, his arms folded and his head facing the bared window, which is the only link to life outside the prison. Still whistling, he brings to mind the obvious longing a prisoner must have for his past and future life, in an Irish context perhaps the political prisoner’s longing for the creation a free, united Ireland. The reference to Johnny Cash highlights the singer’s popularity among incarcerated men and the fact that many of his songs are written to appeal to this demographic, to relieve and assuage their loneliness and to inspire them to remain positive. The popularity of Cash and other country musicians in prisons responds to a trend, which involves a fascination with pop culture figures and television personalities seen among confined people, again an activity which can be ritualized to give comfort in isolation and provide distraction and a sense of freedom.
The effect of viewing this through a peephole gives Conway’s performance yet another layer, due to the volume of visitors present during the four hours it was necessary to queue in order to see the actions, which created the noise emanating from the locked cell. Conway’s whistling enticed the audience to join the always-lengthy queue, which created in itself a sense of mystery around the cell. In terms of the other performers, the queue also interrupted or adjusted the course of some who were trying to move freely around the space, perhaps bringing them in closer contact with the audience and with each other. In keeping with the idea of confinement and isolation, Conway does not have direct contact with any of the other performers, despite this however, the rationalist and utilitarian architecture of the building which engineered the space to inspire virtuous behavior in its inhabitants built gives the viewer a feeling that a pervading, all-seeing presence exists in the space. One can imagine prisoner’s sense of being observed and monitored at all time.
Another scene viewed in the middle of his performance shows Conway leaning against the wall in the right-hand corner of the cell, his arms folded and his head facing the bared window, which is the only link to life outside the prison. Still whistling, he brings to mind the obvious longing a prisoner must have for his past and future life, in an Irish context perhaps the political prisoner’s longing for the creation a free, united Ireland. The reference to Johnny Cash highlights the singer’s popularity among incarcerated men and the fact that many of his songs are written to appeal to this demographic, to relieve and assuage their loneliness and to inspire them to remain positive. The popularity of Cash and other country musicians in prisons responds to a trend, which involves a fascination with pop culture figures and television personalities seen among confined people, again an activity which can be ritualized to give comfort in isolation and provide distraction and a sense of freedom.
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A view from the end of Conway’s performance shows him pacing in front of the door, stopping in front of the peephole and slowly turning his face to meet the viewer eye to eye, he engages in this standoff for a few moments then slowly turns away and again resumes his walk. During this piece Conway engages and challenges his audience in an extremely direct way, one feels that he is accusing and implicating the audience in his imprisonment and bringing them into his private world of exile. At this time the viewer can see that Conway is wearing distorting contact lenses; bright blue with black pupils, which give an exaggerated, vampire-like effect to his eyes, this comparison with the undead reinforces his message that the daily life of a prisoner of Kilmainham Jail is a half-life; unfulfilling and segregated. By inviting the viewer into this solitary world Conway also allows one to consider the role that place has on a prisoner’s sense of identity, it is easy to imagine how the experience of imprisonment necessitates the adoption of a powerful and dominant domineer such as that of a cowboy in order to survive and adapt.
Conway shows the struggle a prisoner must face in order to maintain meaning in his individual life in a place such as Kilmainham and how this struggle can manifest itself in a performance or re-enactment of daily life, when real life in postponed or taken away entirely. Conway takes on the human condition during this performance, using the cell as a frame to evaluate the implications of imprisonment; he uses Kilmainham Jail as a wider frame to show the fate of prisoners in an Irish context. He becomes truly present in the four hours he is confined to the prison cell and engages with the viewer in a simple and minimal way. Despite this there is a sense of powerlessness to be felt while watching his performance; he re-appropriates the ideas of Irish heroism and patriotism, he challenges the idea of Irish identity but does not offer the audience an alternative. There are more questions than answers but by provoking this discussion in such a loaded and significant historical setting, the wide-ranging audience is encouraged to participate and engage with the discussion.
Pauline Clerkin, December 2010.
Conway shows the struggle a prisoner must face in order to maintain meaning in his individual life in a place such as Kilmainham and how this struggle can manifest itself in a performance or re-enactment of daily life, when real life in postponed or taken away entirely. Conway takes on the human condition during this performance, using the cell as a frame to evaluate the implications of imprisonment; he uses Kilmainham Jail as a wider frame to show the fate of prisoners in an Irish context. He becomes truly present in the four hours he is confined to the prison cell and engages with the viewer in a simple and minimal way. Despite this there is a sense of powerlessness to be felt while watching his performance; he re-appropriates the ideas of Irish heroism and patriotism, he challenges the idea of Irish identity but does not offer the audience an alternative. There are more questions than answers but by provoking this discussion in such a loaded and significant historical setting, the wide-ranging audience is encouraged to participate and engage with the discussion.
Pauline Clerkin, December 2010.