Alastair MacLennan represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale, with inter-media work commemorating the names of all those who died as a result of the Political Troubles in Northern Ireland, from 1969 to then date (1997). During the 1970’s and ’80’s he made some long, non-stop performances in Britain, America and Canada, of up to 144 hours duration. Subject matter dealt with political, social and cultural malfunction. Since 1975 he has been based in Belfast, Northern Ireland and was a founding member of Belfast’s Art and Research Exchange (1978). Since 1975 he taught at Ulster Polytechnic, later, the University of Ulster, where, for 11 years, he ran the Master of Arts (MA) Fine Art program. Currently he travels extensively (internationally) presenting Actuations (performance/installations). Since 1989 he’s been a member of the performance art entity, Black Market International, which performs globally. He is presently an Emeritus Professor of Fine Art from the University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland, an Honorary Fellow of the (former) Dartington College of Arts, Devon, England, an Honorary Associate of the (former) National Review of Live Art, Glasgow, Scotland and a founding member of Belfast’s Bbeyond performance art organization.
SAVE VASE
1) The performance engaged “…empathy across conflicting identity(ies)…”
2) SUFFERING…PROVIDING…CHANGING…SUGGESTING…ENABLING…MITIGATING…
LOOKING…HITTING…SUMMONING…FOLLOWING…FAILING…HEADING…
CONCERNING…GIVING…PROMOTING…DISPATCHING…SILENCING…MAKING…
CARRYING…BECOMING…SEEKING…EXPECTING…STRENGTHENING…FLEEING…
WILLING…SEEMING…SAVING…FINDING…BEING…
3) Just as water manifests as blocks of ice, liquid or steam, without losing it’s ‘essential’ nature, while adapting to specific geographic and climatic conditions anywhere, so might a migrating artist, of insightful, open and flexible mind, retain his or her ‘core’ identity, while ‘navigating’ differing political, social and cultural views, globally.
fot.Tomasz Ogrodowczyk
