Breaking Rainbows

Exploring the boundaries of art and life, Breaking Rainbows uses the relationship between wo/man and animal, and the cannibalistic, symbiotic tension between [Orla Barry] the artist and [Orla Barry] the shepherd to reflect on the primal and poetic and unpredictable bond we have with the natural world. Presented as a live performance and video installation, Barry’s new work is a fascinating journey into the land of shepherding through the lens of ‘doing’ rather than ‘observing’ the job at hand.

Endearing, humorous and challenging, Breaking Rainbows reflects on both our interdependence and disconnection from the natural environment. Made up of a series of vignettes, Barry’s new work brings us into a journey through time, conceptualisations and effects: from the realms of sheep farming traditions, ancient Greek shepherd’s singing competitions, contemporary consumerism and gender roles, to the intimate relationship of caring for a sheep about to give birth. 

Interweaving live performance, video, a 300 kg pile of wool produced on Barry’s farm in 2015, and an aural landscape which touches many different forms of speech, Breaking Rainbows is congruous with Orla Barry’s multidisciplinary aesthetic. However, as in her most recent work, Mountain, it also marks a new step in her trajectory by introducing chance procedures and a collaborative approach to the development of the texts. This results in the stories being reinvented and reshaped, defying notions of ownership, authorship and authenticity, and thus also reflecting on the nature of oral storytelling as transferred throughout generations. This is played out in an unpredictable dramaturgy in which no performance or experience of the installation is the same.

 

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2016
Live Performance

written and directed by Orla Barry | with the collaboration of Einat Tuchman, Dick Walsh and Derrick Devine | assistant director: Noelia Ruiz | commissioned and produced by Wexford Arts Centre, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios | co-production Kaaitheater, ARGOS centre for art and media, Crawford Art Gallery| funded by Arts Council of Ireland | support Dublin Theatre Festival, Midsummer Festival Cork, Opera Festival Wexford, IMMA’s Residency Program

Breaking Rainbows is supported by an Arts Council Touring and Dissemination of Work Award.  

Breaking Rainbows tours to Crawford Art Gallery & Cork Midsummer Festival: Performance 22-23 June | Exhibition June - August 2017 | Kaai Theatre, Brussels & Argos Centre for Arts and Media: Performance 25-26 March 2017 | Exhibition 27 March - 30 April 2017 | Wexford Arts Centre: Performance: 19-20 October | Exhibition: 21 October-18 November 2017