just above the tear duct on each side
During the 1950s, Ireland had the highest rate of psychiatric hospital use in the world. Using archival documents concerning the defunct St. Conal’s Psychiatric Hospital, Letterkenny, just above the tear duct on each side looks critically at the evolution of Irish psychiatric institutions across the 20th century, examining the confluence of carceral, therapeutic and socioeconomic incentives that determined their influence.
Programmer’s Note
With diligence and care Cat & Eimear McClay continue the complex task of exploring dark cracks in Ireland’s social history. Centering their narrative on a visit to the Donegal county council archive, the collaborative duo employ 19th century clinical language to confront institutional erasure and dehumanisation directly across time. Digital dampness, rust, mold and a constant echo of rainfall infuse images of crumbling public bathrooms with an unusual atmosphere of abandonment. A mesmerising celestial light washes over the carefully crafted 3D model sets, juxtaposed with harrowing accounts of suffering extracted from the hospital’s treatment books. This coalescence of materialities conjures a hushed vigil for victims and survivors of ‘coercive confinement’.
Director Biographies
Cáit McClay and Éiméar McClay are Irish-born, collaborative artists currently based in London. Their recent work has analysed both the British Imperial project in Ireland and the period following the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922 to examine the cultural, political and economic effects of colonisation. This has involved a focus on the network of social institutions – Magdalene Laundries, mother and baby homes, etc. – run by the Catholic church and the state in Ireland across the 20th century.
Their work has been selected for many esteemed exhibitions and awards, including Circa Class of 2020; Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2020; TH4Y, GENERATORprojects; the 17th & 18th Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival New Cinema Award; the Hospitalfield Graduate Programme; the Market Gallery Studio Projects residency; the CCA Derry residency; Arts Council of Ireland Agility Award 2021 & 2022; RSA New Contemporaries 2022; the RSA Stuart Prize 2022; the 56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival; Queer Lisboa; aemi@GAZE 2022; Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival; Festival du Nouveau Ciné; Intersección, MAV Award; the Beijing International Short Film Festival; the CCA Glasgow Creative Lab residency; Docs Ireland; Memoryhouse, Glebe House; the Creative Scotland Open Fund Award; SQIFF 2023; Other Worlds, Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny; zoombiblestudy, Galerie FaVU; the Visual Arts Bursary Award 2024; aemi @ Docs Ireland: Back Translation; A Mother’s Love, Prayer Room; SQIFF 2024; and Intersección 2024.
Director Filmographies
just above the tear duct on each side (2024), a border of flat stones (2023), A mother’s love for her baby (2022), a body is a body is a body (2021), I guess I need you baby (2021), Queer Use (2020)
