State intervention in re-imaging Northern Ireland’s political murals

Simone-Charteris, Maria

doi:10.4324/9781315547978-13

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…In our sectarian field setting, public space is dominated by private agendas, essentially privatizing place such that one community is emplaced and another displaced. Cross-community collaboration reclaims nominal public space for a public agenda, fundamentally transforming de facto private place to public space and emplacing both communities (Downey and Sherry, 2014; Simone-Charteris, 2017). Because the Temple was ephemeral or evanescent, its emplacing potential must reverberate in memory through mass media, social media and word-of-mouth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The recent unsuccessful efforts of the Northern Irish government to mitigate the spread of belligerent sectarian murals, regulate the destructive consequences of extremist bonfire ceremonies and curb the incidence of partisan graffiti (Downey and Sherry, 2014;Simone-Charteris, 2017) provide the context for our investigation of the Temple installation. The history of DL is steeped in conflict between Protestant (Unionist) and Catholic (Republican) communities, going back at least as far as the Plantation of Ulster (1606) which saw the eviction of locals and their replacement with Scottish colonists loyal to the English king, and the Siege of Derry (1688), a pivotal battle site in the religious struggle for the English monarchy.…”

Section: Research Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These means, as they proliferate over time, become central to processes of healing and reconciliation (Alvarez 2019). The DL Temple is an example of such an incremental intervention, joined by such others as storytelling and re-imaged mural painting in the Northern Irish context (Downey and Sherry, 2014;Simone-Charteris, 2017). Robinson (2018, pp.…”

Section: Temple As Peace Catalystmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Public art and ritual transformation in Northern Ireland

Downey

Sherry

2020

AAM

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PurposeThe actual uses to which public art is put have been virtually ignored, leaving multifarious dynamics related to its esthetic encounters unexplored. Both audience agency in placemaking and sensemaking and the agentic role of place as more than a mere platform or stage dressing for transformation are routinely neglected. Such transformative dynamics are analyzed and interpreted in this study of the Derry–Londonderry Temple, a transient mega-installation orchestrated by bricoleur artist David Best and co-created by sectarian communities in 2015.Design/methodology/approachA range of ethnographic methods and supplemental netnography were employed in the investigation.FindingsParticipants inscribed expressions of their lived experience of trauma on the Temple's infrastructure, on wood scrap remnants or on personal artifacts dedicated for interment. These inscriptions and artifacts became objects of contemplation for all participants to consider and appreciate during visitation, affording sectarian citizens opportunity for empathic response to the plight of opposite numbers. Thousands engaged with the installation over the course of a week, registering sorrow, humility and awe in their interactions, experiencing powerful catharsis and creating temporary cross-community comity. The installation and the grief work animating it were introjected by co-creators as a virtual legacy of the engagement.Originality/valueThe originality of the study lies in its theorizing of the successful delivery of social systems therapy in an esthetic modality to communities traditionally hostile to one another. This sustained encounter is defined as traumaturgy. The sacrificial ritual of participatory public art becomes the medium through which temporary cross-community cohesion is achieved.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Temple As Peace Catalystmentioning

confidence: 99%

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