From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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A unique exhibition, Shadowing the Archives, opens at the Coach House, Dublin Castle, featuring new work from the National Archives’ artist-in-residence, John Beattie. The exhibition is the culmination of a two-year residency, and will be open to the public until 8 October.
For two years, John Beattie has observed the National Archives, and the work of its staff preserving and making accessible the records of the State. He has become familiar with the daily working practices of its archivists, shadowing them through the physical spaces of the National Archives; the vast storage areas, the reading room, the conservation suite, the warehouse, and the digitisation suite in its premises on Bishop Street. Beattie was particularly interested in the National Archives’ approach to conserving and preparing historical records for public display, and how new insights into key episodes in Irish history were enabled through innovative presentation of original records in exhibitions, books, and public events.
In Gallery II in the Coach House, Beattie presents a series of ‘assemblages’ which focus on contemporary and traditional modes of display and representations of archive material relating to significant historical episodes from 1921 and 1922, including the negotiation of the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the destruction of the Public Record Office of Ireland. The archive box, with its unique reference code, is a practical storage device for the work of the National Archives, but it is also a signifier, a ‘container’ of history, of multiple histories, and in the exhibition the unfolded, open-plan archive box becomes both a framing device, and a formal reminder of the archival processes that underpin the construction of history.
In Gallery I, Beattie has created a black and white, double video-projection installation, where he combines footage of archival and exhibition-making processes, with staged and choreographed scenes filmed in collaboration with the Irish Aikido Federation in the National Archives. The Aikido sequences feature action scenes in slow-motion; the drama of conflict, as well as its resolution, is depicted in visceral detail. The film also features processes of careful preparation, and states of meditation and reflection.
Aikido is a defensive martial art that uses twisting and throwing techniques to turn an attacker’s strength and momentum against him/herself. Aikido translates from Japanese as ‘way of harmonizing energy’. Through his research process, and in particular his documentation of the making of The Treaty, 1921: Records from the Archives exhibition, Beattie became interested in the questions of conflict resolution; processes of negotiation; the ‘choreography’ of peace talks; how, in the context of war, the terms of peace can even begin to be imagined?
The National Archives’ Commemoration Programme aims to bring its collections to life and make them relevant by exploring the impact and legacy of the events that occurred during the revolutionary period. By supporting scholarly, collaborative and creative responses, the National Archives has, and will continue to activate its holdings to enable an open, diverse and inclusive commemoration of the final, challenging years of Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Minister Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, said:
“As Minister with responsibility for coordinating the State’s Decade of Centenaries Programme 2012-2023, I support the work and creative expression of artists such as John Beattie, as they engage with the historical collections of the National Archives and other institutions in new and innovative ways, exploring and representing the archival record through a creative and artistic lens. The richness of collaborations such as this, between the historical and contemporary, open up these precious records to new audiences and challenge us to take a different look at historical events. It is great to see the culmination of this residency under the Programme’s Artist-in-Residence scheme.”
John Beattie is a visual artist, originally from Co. Donegal, and currently based in Dublin. He has exhibited widely nationally and internationally. In 2023, he presented Reconstructing Mondrian (2013-2020) at the Hugh Lane Gallery, based on Piet Mondrian’s original Paris studio from 1921-1936, in collaboration with The Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, The Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, and the Foundation Reconstruction of Mondrian’s Studio, The Netherlands.
Still and moving-image productions include: PERFORMING NGI.988 (2016), produced for the 1916 State commemorations in collaboration with the National Gallery of Ireland, the ESB Centre for the Study of Irish Art, and The LAB Gallery, Dublin; and An Artist, The Studio, and all the rest… (2006-2012), a two part cinematic moving-image production, exhibited at The Royal Hibernian Academy.
Beattie has been awarded a number of residencies to date, including the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, 2020; the apexart Fellowship, New York, 2015; IMMA, Dublin, 2011; Temple Bar Gallery & Studio, Dublin, 2010; the RHA, Dublin, 2010; and Fire Station Artists’ Studios, Dublin, 2006- 2009.
John Beattie was appointed Artist in Residence in the National Archives in 2021 as part of the Government of Ireland’s Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 Programme.
For further information about John Beattie and his work: www.johnbeattie.ie.
The National Archives preserves the memory of the State in the form of its written records. It acquires and protects Ireland’s public records, thereby ensuring their availability as a resource for all. These records relate to the social, cultural, economic and political history of the island of Ireland from the Middle Ages through to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and into the modern era.
Venue: Coach House, Dublin Castle
Exhibition dates: 15 September to 8 October 2023
Opening hours: Open daily. 10am-12.30pm and 1.30-5pm. Closed from 12.30-1.30pm
Opening event: Thursday 14 September, 6pm