COSTELLO MEMORIAL CHAPEL PROJECT
'Time' is the latest sound piece from Secret Society and will only ever be available from whence it came, the Costello Memorial Chapel, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. The piece was constructed by Stephen Rennicks solely from sounds recorded from inside the chapel. From now till the end of the 2005 CD copies of the piece will be routinely place on its door for the public to take.
More information about the artist can be obtained at www.freewebs.com/stephenrennicks
Built in 1877 and located in the center of Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, the Costello Memorial Chapel is the second smallest such building in the world. Built by local merchant Edward Costello to honour the memory and house the remains of his wife Mary. He was himself interred alongside his beloved wife 14 years later and today their eternal resting place lies at the heart of a rural Irish town.
The building today is unchanged but neglected. Dwarfed on three sides by development it is seen as little more than a curiosity, if not an inconvenience. Although the paradox is that it would no doubt be defended to the hilt by local people if it’s existence was ever to be threatened. Until that time it will be allowed to decay, its door constantly locked.
I am certainly not the first local artist to become interested in this building, a near-by gallery has a constant stream of paintings on display depicting it and tourists continue to take a keen interest in its design and structure. For my part I was taken with how much the town and indeed the country and the world itself has changed in the almost 130 years since its construction. It would seem to have been built with the impulse of love and in many ways that most basic element of human nature is unchanged also, no matter how our material world has. While emotions do not need physical markers to exist, perhaps we need them to be a continual reminder, a sort of library for one book.
In this spirit I approached my own response to this building. which has borne witness to so much change. From inside the chapel history would be purely sonic with only the constant play of light and shadow to mark the passing of each day. On 11th of October 2005 I recorded sounds from inside the chapel and constructed my piece, 'Time', solely from this material. Amongst other effects I choose to time stretch this material out of all recognition. The impulse that I want to capture is one of the most ancient, to stop time or at least slow it’s passing, to find infinity within the moment. In so many ways this building embodies that infinity, long may it last.
Stephen Rennicks
4/11/05
As this is such a short project a midway statement might be seen as excessive but already a few addition things have struck me since the work became public. You can console yourselves that I may not have much more to add by the end!
I decided to place the CDs with the mirrored side showing so as to attract attention to them, the days being short enough as it is and any potential passer-by’s who naturally cast their gaze at the chapels direction are at a premium. I’ve also been placing just two at a time so as not to tempt fate and have a load of them removed to the nearest bin, although this reaction; where it will then travel, will the person responsible ever wonder what was on it etc, also interests me. I see destruction in this context as a valid reaction. Anyway, I have noticed that if you are walking from the post office towards the chapel towards late evening you will see them reflecting the sun quite noticeably. Unfortunately a picture would not do justice to this subtle but unmistakable effect of witnessing it yourself. What you want to interpret from this unexpected effect as a symbol is up to you but I like to think of it as symbolising the souls of the interred.
Thankfully there was a sizable mention on the project in the local listing magazine ‘The Scene’ and this will raise awareness before the CD’s are gone forever. Soon after the Leitrim Observer also kindly reprinted my above text. The piece carried the bulk of the text on the website which I hoped they would do as I know not everyone has access or the ability to use the internet. I did briefly consider including this text with the CD itself as an insert but decided to only include the website address. The reason for this is that I strongly believe people need to relate to art far less passively and make some effort for themselves. My previous ‘Junk Out Of Context’ project used a similar approach and this has gradually become part of my aesthetic. If this effort brings questions and initiates further thought on the subject then that can only be a positive. The art itself can still remain open to interpretation but the viewer has now more fully entered the process of examining the art for themselves. Whenever people purposefully engage their time to some end it can only stimulate them further. There is so much passive activity in everyday life as it is, looking at art should not be one of them.
On only having the CD’s available from the chapel itself, I do like the idea that the sounds I used have been returned to their source and can only ever now re-enter the world again through people who visit that place. Again in a similar way to my charity shop based ‘Junk out of Context’ project, where I got much of my source material for my pieces which were then deposited back into the same shops, a large part of the experience of the piece is actually wondering should you take it home, thinking about who made it and why and what’s on the website etc. During that project I gave friends who were having difficulties locating my stuff some of the material but always felt they didn’t get to experience and understand this aspect of the project. This time I have also relented and sent copies to people that requested them, although these were not locals.
Hopefully all this additional stuff does not distract from my actual sonic response itself. Playing ‘Time’ is when these thoughts are best considered.
19/11/05
Finally, on days I don't need to do anything else in town, I don't have to leave the comfort of my flat to leave CD's on the door of the Costello Chapel! Not to mention finding the time to burn more copies of the CD, luckily I could do the hand painting of the covers in two long stints over the two month period. But the process was all kind of fun, at least they moved. The final amount produced being 50, I would have numbered them but had no idea how many would move in 2 months.
One of the most tangible things that came out of the project was its inclusion in the December/January exhibition at The Dock gallery, here in Carrick-on-Shannon. As I type this the piece is still there now, on a plinth, looping through headphones.
The Leitrim Observer also came through for me in December and ran a piece about the project which coupled with the previous months article in The Scene all helped get the word out..
I have so far encountered one person who picked one up randomly without knowing about my involvement in it. It happened when I was giving a copy to one of my co-workers and this person recognised the CD cover and later on asked me about it. He told me that when he had noticed it on the door he had thought it might be some weird devil worshipper stuff and took it out of curiosity and had been playing it for his baby daugter to get her to sleep. He hadn’t checked out the website and probably wouldn’t have gotten round to it so he was interested in the how and the why.
Basically the only thing extra thing I can add here that I haven’t already covered is that the project depended on people having an awareness of their surroundings. Save to say, whether you find money on the ground, bump into your friend or find hidden works of art it’s all down to this same type of awareness.
5/1/06
More info on Chapel.
Front and back cover of hand painted sleeves.
