RISING

Ormston House invites you to the screening of RISING by artist William Bock in the Curraghgour Boat Club, Merchants Quay, Limerick on Saturday 25 March 2023 from 6.30-8pm. The event is free and all are welcome.

Filmed along the shores of the Shannon Estuary, RISING depicts individuals and family groups as they emerge from the silt, covered in the river mud, returning to their everyday lives. Part documentary, part visual poem, RISING responds to local people’s changing relationship with the river over time and the environmental changes that will challenge life along its shores. 

Prior to making the film, William Bock spent a year visiting families and individuals in Kildysart and Labasheeda, County Clare to learn about their connections to the river, their history and their thoughts about the future. During his visits, William became interested in the body of silt that coats the estuary. For the artist, the silt represents the accumulated heritage of the communities reliant on the River Shannon. Through the film, local community members worked together with William to offer a new vision of the landscape and their place within it.

Following the short film, Kildysart local Fintan Ginnane and his son Fergal will showcase their handmade Gandelow boat. There will be a discussion on traditional boat-building craft and the heritage of the families who once lived on the islands of the Shannon Estuary in County Clare. 

About the artist

William Bock is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the connections between people and the environments they inhabit. He uses photography, painting, sound recording, performance, and installation to delve into the experiences of living between cultures, landscapes, and identities. Collaboration and responsive approaches to working with materials, particular sites, and with communities are central to his process as an artist.

About the River Residencies

The River Residencies are funded by the Arts Council of Ireland’s Invitation to Collaboration scheme, led by Limerick Arts Office in partnership with the Arts Offices in Cavan, Clare, and Tipperary. The River Residencies are curated by Caimin Walsh and Mary Conlon at Ormston House as part of the Museum of Mythological Water Beasts (2017–) about, along, and on the River Shannon.

Information

A suite of photographs from the making of the film "RISING" (2022) by William Bock will be exhibited as part of the River Residencies exhibition at Ormston House until Saturday 8 April 2023.

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Image: RISING (Ann and Fintan) (2022), photograph by William Bock, courtesy of the artist.