Noah Rose
University of Glasgow
Nuair cualadh mé gutha mar ceól Orphéus… / When I heard a voice like the music of Orpheus…
How can site-specific sculpture illuminate cultural-linguistic knowledge held within historical archival material? How can the process of materialising language operate within the demarcated linguacultural space of a small Irish (Gaelic)-speaking island? Oileán Chléire/Cape Clear Island is a small but significant Gaeltacht (traditionally Irish-speaking) Island, with a permanent population of 130. In such a small community, a significant factor in the economy and community life is linguacultural tourism, both through courses at the residential language college and through informal exchange in community and cultural settings. During 2020 I participated in the ‘Oileán AiR’ artist residency programme on Oileán Chléire where I developed a sculptural installation in the landscape: ‘An Leabharlann na gClocha Ceilte/ The Hidden Stone Library’. Taking as its starting point a poem, ‘Inis Chléire’ from the Duchas national folklore archive (that romanticises the island as an Irish-speaking paradise) I materialised lines from the poem in found stone tablets, carving them by hand in traditional Cló Gaelach letterforms. In this presentation I will unpack some of the complexities of understanding landscapes through sculptural materialisation of archival source texts, examining site-specific sculptural practices that explore cultural/historical aspects of place. As an active learner of Irish, resident in Ireland but with no familial/ancestral connection to Irish, I will examine some of the challenges around language ownership, to ask: who is the language for and to whom does it belong? Mindful of sensitivities around popular perceptions of the Gaeltacht as a ‘heartland of native Irish’, I will adopt definitions of working linguistic categories including ‘expert’, ‘hybrid’ and ‘potential’ new speakers of Irish - to ask how such artistic interventions can contribute to a sustainable balance of community and visitor needs, whilst remaining respectful towards the island’s fragile linguistic and natural ecology.