C102 review

Belfast: Barbara Freeman at Old Museum

Barbara Freeman: Ceilp installation shot, 2002; the artist

Ceilp, or Kelp, continues Barbara Freeman's exploration into the working together of image and sound whilst utilizing technological and traditional devices. Working with musicians from Ceoltóir/Foinn Chonallacha - Ashling De Chléir, Nina Watrelot, Leanne McLaughlin and Mary McKeever - Freeman's work explores cultural and historical inheritance through the transitory experiences of ceilp, a familiar entity within the Irish coastal landscape. An installation, a series of prints, and a multimedia presentation provide three focal points within the exhibition, the latter providing an opportunity for the viewer to observe four ceilp 'journeys' and also to learn more about the artist, her work, and the musicians involved.

Barbara Freeman: from Ceilp series, 2002, digital print, 33 x 74 cm; courtesy Old Museum Arts Centre

The main point of focus is the installation made up of a series of digitally produced rectangular prints, all of equal size and featuring the same muted and delicate colouring. Suspended from the ceiling and progressing downwards in a sequence of diminishing lines, each individual print differs slightly from its companions. The accompanying music, which at times is difficult to hear, adds force to the visual; composed of sounds ranging from naturalistic to eerie, it finds its source in the Irish tradition, The feeling here is a combination of ethereal magic and earthy primitivism, hinting at an evolutionary past observed from what the artist suggests is a microbiological viewpoint.

An accompanying series of prints are more sculptural in composition than those used in the construction of the installation. Stronger colouring, dissecting lines, and occasional spheres create divisions within images. Within these divisions microscopic detail, in blurred and precise form, suggests cell-like movement, affirming Freeman's objective to create "a kind of micro-landscape of biology, sea and coastlines."¹ However, these images are also reminiscent of the kind of detail found in satellite photographs, calling to mind a different perspective - the chance to observe our landscape from a cosmic viewpoint.

Perhaps the weakest element within the show is the multimedia component. Although the utilisation of technology was important in the production of the work, in this instance the presence and required usage of the machine itself lends a certain awkwardness to the proceedings. The 'user' is invited to view four ceilp 'journeys' by clicking on appropriate links: images begin to move hypnotically across a computer screen, accompanied by wistful, and at times dramatic, sound; however, after a few moments the work assumes an almost 'screen-saverish' quality that does not do justice to the concept.

The Old Museum may not have been the best location for the exhibiting of this collaboration of image and sound. A fundamental constituent of the work, the music can be difficult to hear against the background chatter of coffee drinkers (and the inconsiderate hum of the vacuum cleaner), calling to mind Shirley MacWilliam's observation that "sound in the gallery...is mutable and leaky" and "difficult to contain...within discrete spaces."² Ideally one needs to be alone in the space to appreciate fully the intricate relatioship between each constructional element; however, fortunately the visual strength of Ceilp compensates for the aural-vis-à-vis-location problem.

¹Quoted in Ceilp exhibition information by Una Campbell, Old Museum Arts Centre, 2002.
²Shirley MacWilliam, Sound, Sense and Sensibilities, CIRCA 83, Spring 1998, p. 33.

Alison Walker is a writer living in Belfast.
Barbara Freeman: Ceilp, Old Museum Arts Centre, August - October 2002

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