A virtual ‘cyber vault’ of original, contributed and found moving images, writings, spoken word and music; Day of the Straws effectively establishes coordinates to navigate both a country’s very real terrors and the complicated, interrelated matrix of ‘hope and cope’ amid faith, science, the rational and the supernatural, as manifest in ancient and contemporary cultural lore.”
The work is a response to a collective need to build a sense of belief and resilience in the face of a complex crisis that has been both medical and existential, physical and emotional.”
A VIRTUAL 'CYBER VAULT'
Day of the Straws www.dayofthestraws.ie conceptually explores parallels between a supernatural protection myth drawn from Ireland’s 1830’s Cholera epidemic, associated with illness, fear and faith; and the novel coronavirus global outbreak with people’s cultural lore measures as a means to hope, cope, protect and defend.
Eight interactive platforms, each with multiple layers, form the work and each zone has a dedicated theme spanning elements of the supernatural to the politics of care. Brett gathered raw materials from conversations online with around seventy-five community participants including historians, druids, healers, artisans, spiritualists, elders, singers, musicians and storytellers. These were combined with original writings by Katie Holly and filmic response plus collaged found materials by Brett, for the visual designer Lucia Pola to give form online across the eight connected sections.
Day of The Straws was creatively conceived by Brett, commissioned by Cork Midsummer Festival, and publicly presented in partnership with SIRIUS, County Cork. Full credits here.
Project supported by:
