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Messengers of Yesterday

Messengers of Yesterday, by Cynthia O’Dell, is a collection of photographic works exploring the legacy of Ireland’s 1845-1852 famine, also known as An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger), and the perpetual migration narrative that has shaped Ireland’s identity since that great trauma. The project seeks to validate the cultural memory of a community, explores the lineage of colonization, and examines a legacy of dislocation.

Tullig Village, Kilrush, Co. Clare, 2006/1849 ‘The abandoned village of Tullig’, taken from the Illustrated London News of 15 December 1849

Tullig Village, Kilrush, Co. Clare, 2006/1849
‘The abandoned village of Tullig’, taken from
the Illustrated London News of 15 December 1849


This work began as a journey into O’Dell’s family archive as well as a journey to Ireland and is an attempt to understand her Irish American identity in the midst of the famine. As a child, her own family’s narrative was one of dislocation, due to lost homes, expulsion from rental properties and disrupted family dynamics. This prompted a nostalgic longing for a vague Irish heritage. This early life experience dovetailed with stories of her ancestors being forced to leave Ireland, and so her empathy for that kind of dislocation and loss of place continually draws her there.

Photographs of her ancestors, evictions, engravings from the Illustrated London News and quotes taken from the“1937 Schools’ Folklore Scheme,” commissioned by the Irish Folklore commission have been transferred to transparencies and re-photographed in the contemporary Irish landscape Some images are also made into a combination portrait, or layered with imagery from historical famine sites and quotes from the Schools’ Folklore Scheme. The quotes give privilege to folk memory and those who attempt to remember this great trauma in Irish history and the illustrations from the Illustrated London News (published between 1845-52) demonstrate the significant changes to the land since then. Simultaneously, the photographic transparency layered over the contemporary landscape becomes a metaphorical device, exploring dislocation and absence.

Details:
Traveling Exhibition Dates: spring 2015 – fall 2017
Rental Fee: $1,500 plus round-trip shipping via fine art shuttle or local/regional pick up
Number of works available: 37-48 (239-298 linear feet)

  • Archival pigment prints mounted on Dibond

  • Ready-to-hang artwork with French cleats and hardware

  • Formatted exhibition labels (digital file)

  • Handouts

  • Press Release

  • Artist Available to Speak

  • Exhibition images can be edited at site institution to accommodate space needs

Contact Information:
Please contact Margaret Leininger with questions or to reserve the exhibition.
DePauw University, Director/Curator of Exhibitions and University Collections
margaretleininger@depauw.edu

Please contact Cynthia O’Dell if you'd like to schedule a guest lecture.

DePauw University, Professor of Art
codell@depauw.edu

Website: http://messengersofyesterday.wordpress.com

Messengers-Of-Yesterday.pdf