Performing NGI.988
Performing NGI.988 consists of 35mm film stills which slowly overlap and dissolve to form an 18min moving image.
Performing NGI.988 was commissioned in 2016 to critically reflect on the commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising. The images show a number of staged scenes and historical artifacts that include: the National Gallery of Ireland Conservation project, at Malahide Castle, of The Battle of the Boyne 1693 painting by Jan Wyck (NGI.988); Drawings from Jack B. Yeats sketch books depicting the aftermath and destruction of Dublin city in 1916 from the artists point of view; the NGI Minutes book which note the events of 1916 and the damage to the city and its cultural artifacts; an exhibition catalogue of the NGI’s 1966 exhibition Cuimhneachán 1916; and a selection of scenes of archival storage spaces from the National Archives of Ireland. These images have been compiled and reconstructed into a silent visual narrative, were each image simultaneously marks a separation with the past and a connection to it, in our present time.
John Beattie
John Beattie is a visual artist based in Dublin. Beattie’s practice takes the form still and moving-image staged productions. His work re-addresses cultural narratives and events that reconstructs the malleable medium of time. He has exhibited widely and participated in numerous residencies nationally and internationally. His work is featured in public and private collections such as The Arts Council of Ireland and the Office of Public Works. Currently, Beattie is Artist in Residence at the National Archives of Ireland, works for Fire Station Artists’ Studios, and is working towards his solo exhibition titled Reconstructing Mondrian, at the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.
