Contested Site, site-specific performance, 2021
Contested Site was produced through an artist residency with Live Art Ireland onsite at Milford House in rural Borrisbane, Tipperary and was part of a 3-week artist residency.
This performance took place on a chilly evening on December 14, 2021, and was broadcast over Zoom to an audience for the Virtually Live and Steaming exhibition that featured the work of ten local and international artists.
Contested Site is a personal work that reflects the Barry’s family history as white settlers of Irish descent living now on in Canada. The performance’s title references both the “contested site” of the artist body growing up queer in an Irish Catholic family and the contested site of the Milford House that was once a hideout for the IRA political movement. The performance was mediated by two cameras, one camera was directed toward the canvas, and the second camera framing the overall installation.
Video link here: Contested Site
A more detailed account of the performance can be found on the Live Art Ireland website: https://www.live-art.ie/2021/12/29/kate-barry/