Session 1 AT

FIRST DRAFT

What ‘We Want To Remember The Sea’ is a digital 3D model of the sea made using the software Blender. This model mimics the movement of the sea, as well as how light interacts with the water. Accompanying the 3D model is a sound scape which blends audio recorded by the artist in Pembroke, Wales with found audio of the North Scottish coast. Layered on top of this soundscape, is a text written, recorded and performed by the artist. The protagonist of this text is a fisherwoman, who is recalling her memories of the sea. Each memory acts as a chapter. The first memory is from the protagonist’s childhood of a fishing trip with her father, the second memory is of her last day out on a boat. In the third memory it is revealed that humanity has lost the sea, though it is not explicit how. In this third chapter, the protagonist is asked by researchers recall what her relationship with the sea was and how she remembers it. The video loops seamlessly and continuously.

How The process of making ‘We Want To Remember The Sea’, was generally split into three elements which were combined at the end. These elements were the 3D model, the text and the soundscape. The 3D model was made through knowledge I already had, online tutorials and intuition. Once I made the model of the sea, I had to chose where the digital camera would be placed. I placed the camera in such a way that it feels you are looking out from the bow of ship. The text was written in spurts, I started with an initially free writing from which the character sprung. The first memory arrived first, and during the beginning of the process. The last two memories were written during the final part of the whole process. The soundscape was recorded during an intense work trip in Wales, during a visit to Pembroke I recorded the sound of the sea and port. I then recorded myself reading the text aloud and performing the role of the fisherwoman, which was combined then with soundscape. Then this layered over the top of the 3D model to create the final work.

Why I was commissioned to make a piece of work inspired by the idea of ‘Posti. e. being after something. The commission coincided with an exhibition about Post War Art at the Barbican Centre, London. The protagonist took inspiration from a chapter about a ferryman in ‘Flights’ by Olga Tokarczuk, I wanted to write something set in a similar landscape. I also was nostalgic of my memories of fishing off the coast of West Ireland as a child. I thought about how these two inspirations combined with the idea of ‘Post’. From this came the idea of losing the sea. Initially, I wanted to film the real sea however due to time and financial restriction I decide to make a model of the sea. As I began to make the model, I realised the model would end up asking questions of authenticity, loss and the role of technology in our future - all of which are questions that fascinate me. Another key intention was to make something people could let soak in, something meditative that could provide sensory relief. It was important for me that they felt the work before thinking about its meaning.

SECOND DRAFT

What ‘We Want To Remember The Sea’ (10 minutes, 16:9) is a video and sound installation which loops seamlessly.

The video consists of an animated digital 3D model of the sea made using the software Blender.

The soundscape combines audio recordings of the sea with a text written by the artist. The sound of the scene consists of two recordings blended together, one recorded by the artist in Pembroke, Wales with a found audio recording of the North Scottish coast.

Layered on top of this soundscape, is a text written, recorded and performed by the artist. The protagonist of this text is a fisherwoman, who recalls three memories of the sea. Each memory acts as a chapter. The first memory is from the protagonist’s childhood of a fishing trip with her father, the second memory of her last day out on a boat. In the third memory it is revealed that humanity has lost the sea, though it is not explicit how. In this third chapter, the protagonist is asked by researchers to recall what her relationship with the sea was and how she remembers it.

How The process of making ‘We Want To Remember The Sea’, was split into three elements which then combined at the end. These elements were the 3D model, the text and the soundscape.

The 3D model was made through knowledge I already had, online tutorials and intuition. Once the model was made, I placed a digital camera within the scene and recorded the final video.

The text was written in spurts, I started with free writing from which the character sprung. The first memory arrived first, and during the beginning of the process. The last two memories were written during the final part of the whole process.

The soundscape was recorded during an intense work trip in Pembroke, Wales. I recorded the sound of the sea and port using a Zoom H5 recorder. I made several recordings and layered these in the edit with audio I had found online of the North Scottish coast.

I then recorded myself reading the text aloud and performing the role of the fisherwoman, which was combined then with soundscape. Then this is layered over the top of the video to create the final work.

Why In early 2022, I was commissioned by the artist Abbas Zahedi and the Barbican Centre to create a work around the idea ‘Post-‘ i.e. being after something’.

Around this time I had been reading the works Olga Tokarczuk, and was inspired by a chapter about a ferryman in the novel ‘Flights’. I wanted to write something set in a similar landscape. Further, I had been experiencing bouts of nostalgia for my childhood summers on West Coast of Ireland, particularly of being out at sea fishing. I thought about how these two inspirations combined with the idea of ‘Post’. From this came the idea of ‘after’ the sea.

Initially, I wanted to film the real sea however due to time and financial restriction, I decided to make a model of the sea. As I began to make the model, I realised that this approach would end up asking questions of authenticity, loss and the role of technology in our future - these are questions that fascinate me.

Another key intention was to make something people could let soak in, something meditative that could provide sensory relief. It was important for me that they felt the work before thinking about its meaning.