Ireland/Germany, 2010, 15:54 mins, 16mm film and HD transferred to DVD

Köln übernacht looks at ruins and expands this subject metaphorically to consider the creation of ideals (social, political, national, architectural) and their tendency to stray from their intended path leading to inevitable decline and ruin. The thematic spine of the film focuses on the contrasting fates of Ireland and Germany over the past 60 years. Both countries had to respond to an ‘economic miracle’ and a subsequent identity as a prominent leisure economy following a period of division and turmoil. In so doing, it refers to the life and work of German writer and Nobel Prize Laureate Heinrich Böll, who lived in Ireland for many years and is synonymous with the country in his native land.
screenings:
Liverpool Biennial Film Programe, 2012
Kilkenny Arts Festival, 2010
exhibitions:
Dublin Contemporary 2011

Germany/Ireland, 2012, 13:22 mins, 16mm film and DV transferred to DVD

On Our Own We Are Free To Do Many Things ocuses on the construction of the Romanian Palace of the Parliament (known as the Casa Poporului); the heaviest, most expensive and largest civilian administrative building in the world manically commissioned by Nicolae Ceauşescu in the 1980s. The film considers the problem of making a redundant legacy workable, such as the Casa Poporului that Ceauşescu left behind – too big to demolish, too big to utilise.

screenings: Liverpool Biennial Film Programe (2012)

Ireland, 2004, 04:25 mins, DV transferred to DVD


Tonight directly considers the contrasting personal circumstances of Clarke with those of his brother – who is an estate agent – in a film that ruminates on the themes of class, choice, and politics. Through presenting the contrasting choices of two individuals - from the same family with identical upbringings - for scrutiny, a perspective is seen on how people form their politics, and develop their understanding of society, by the often arbitrary ways in which day to day life allows them to interact with the environment they live in. By not pronouncing judgement, both individuals remain equal; equally justified, and equally condemned.

Ireland/Germany, 2003, 04:57 mins, DV transferred to DVD


Metempsydoughsis presents a historically accurate account of the doughnut, specifically the absurdities of the creation of the hole in its centre. The film focuses on a seemingly innocuous pastry as a means of representing and considering the migration of Europeans to the U.S.A., and the subsequent changes that occurred in their culture and habits over the duration of two centuries. The reintroduction into Europe of these transformed customs during 20th Century conflict, as the ringed doughnut was during both World Wars, presents an interesting example of the manner in which transmigrating peoples and ideas alter and manifest themselves: physically, socially, and politically.