Filmed Performance
Rónán Ó Raghallaigh: Directions of the Cauldron

Sun, 17.10.2021
1:00 PM The Hugh Lane Gallery

Directions of the Cauldron

Filmed performance by Rónán Ó Raghallaigh, filmed and edited by Mark O'Gorman, 13 min, colour, Ireland 2021


This performance, filmed at the oak tree on the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) which was planted in 1991 in memory of Beuys, imagines how a druid’s lecture might have sounded or could exist in contemporary times. The result is a ritual speech which incorporates a deer skull in response to Beuys’ artwork “7000 Oaks.” It uses Beuys’ metaphor of Europe as a cauldron for its conceptual framework: the directions of the cauldron all represent different things in relation to the Celtic and affect the reading of “7000 Oaks.” The performative lecture exists in a druidic state of suspended logic which allows for both stability and instability of meaning.
Irish artist Rónán Ó Raghallaigh’s work makes use of the surreal, the symbolic and ritual. It is an act of decolonisation and is its own form of Celtic revivalism in the 21st century informed by postcolonial theory. On Bealtaine 2021, Rónán Ó Raghallaigh held a family ceremony where he was re-baptised as a druid.
In 2021 he completed his MFA in "Art in the Contemporary World" at the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin during which he wrote a thesis about “Postcolonial Druidry and Joseph Beuys”.

Followed by a talk between Rónán Ó Raghallaigh and Dr. Francis Halsall, National College of Art and Design

No booking required but space is limited. People wishing to attend are required to show vaccination certificates.

There will also be a live performance by Rónán Ó Raghallaigh at the Goethe-Institut in Dublin on 28 October 2021. Using sacred objects he will enter a druidic trance and attempt to channel Joseph Beuys, drawing the visions he receives immediately afterwards.
Tickets and further information here.