Sacred Places

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:03]As a resident artist at the Balingan Arts Foundation in Ballet Castle, Connie Mayo, Ireland, I made the five installations included in this video during March 2026.

[00:00:15]Each installation is specific to a place that I found both moving and sacred.

[00:00:20]These works were ephemeral temporary immersive interactions with the place.

[00:00:26]This video is an expression of the experiences I had in the making of the work.

[00:00:37]One of the many mercies of Ireland is that the past lives gracefully in the present, allowing distinguished remains like this barn to enjoy the honor of remaining.

[00:00:50]At this site with the barn and the church beyond, I felt their deeply rooted relationship.

[00:00:57]The church and the farm.

[00:01:00]Each of the thousands of structures like this barn offers a sanctuary that celebrates this country's long story about people, belief, and the land.

[00:01:33]This abbey was built for the Dominican friars in the 13th century. They traveled so far through so much hardship to save the souls of the people of Kala Bay. The unwavering devotion that delivered them to the edge of the Avore River may have blinded them to the true nature of the folks they intended to save.

[00:01:55]The Abby endured. The friars did not.

[00:02:11]The end of life is no less a mystery today than it was 5600 years ago when this court tomb was built. At this place, we believe this mystery was honored through a ritual. The bodily remains passed over the threshold into the chambers beyond. A ceremonial journey from the here to the there. The devotion to this journey is expressed by the extraordinary act of moving these stones into place. Centuries of ball growth have preserved this sacred place.

[00:02:44]The mystery and the threshold remain the same.

[00:02:59]There are spirits here. They hide from me.

[00:03:03]I invite them to be with me for a moment in this quiet old place.

[00:03:09]Friars, bakers, masons, Normans, children, fairy folk.

[00:03:18]Who of you is here?

[00:03:31]In Ireland, there's an ancient practice of tying a personal piece of cloth to a tree at a sacred well. A cultic tradition still practice.

[00:03:43]The ritual like lighting a motive is a petition on behalf of a loved one with an ailment or darkened spirit.

[00:03:52]The cloth is dipped in the well and then tied to a blackthorn tree.

[00:03:58]As the cloth deteriorates, the ailment or evil will be eliminated from the loved one. The inscription at Mary's well reads, "Pursue justice, then you shall have no fear of God and death."

[00:04:14]I petitioned for the health of our country.