Confine(d) | Culture Night 2020 | Fri 18 Sept | 5pm
We're back with a bang for Culture Night 2020 as we reopen our theatre for the very first time post-lockdown!
Confine(d) is a multidisciplinary project by poet Alice Kinsella and visual artist Paul Kinsella. This is a seven-minute short film which will be played on a loop betwen 5pm and 7pm on Culture Night 2020.
***Please take note of our Health and Safety Guidelines for attending events at the Linenhall in the information and link below.
We have entered the Anthropocene. The dominant force on the physical world is humanity. The ground remembers human presence. When we inhabit a place, what connection do we make to its history? How do our physical surroundings affect the workings of our minds?
At a time when we are having more of a physical impact than ever before, we as a species are living digitally, spending more time in our minds, and the minds of others.
We are alone. We are disconnected. The world fractures. Empathy is essential.
The pandemic has resulted in physical and social isolation. Yet what we’re seeing is an extension of the social distancing that has been happening for years as communities dwindle and social lives become more fragmented.
In Ireland, we have a history of institutions such as asylums and laundries in which people deemed unfit for society were restrained in great numbers. To be isolated from society is in our blood.
Today, we live in overcrowded cities while large portions of the Irish countryside are all but abandoned. People share bedrooms with strangers, yet we have a loneliness epidemic. The digital era has changed the meaning of closeness. We are living through the evolution of our most basic social needs.
Shot within two kilometres of the artist’s County Mayo home, this film uses poetry, and virtual reality technology to explore the effects of confinement on the mind. Through the lenses of landscape, history, and technology, Confine(d) navigates themes of isolation, restriction, and the relationship between physical and mental space. Confine(d) is produced with the support of the Arts Council of Ireland.
Shot in response to the lockdown of spring 2020, Confine(d) is a meditation on the relationship between space, mind, and place. Using the immersive technology of virtual reality, Confine(d) invites the viewer into the mind of another as they grapple with isolation.
We have a full and comprehensive list of of reopening guidelines here: http://www.thelinenhall.com/news/?s=guidelines-for-attending-shows Please read and familiarise yourself with the guidelines in order to enjoy your experience at the Linenhall.
You can experience this interactive seven-minute film in two ways between 5pm and 7pm on Fri 18 Sept.
Firstly, if you're up for it, you can experience the film through a virtual reality headset in our coffee shop. Only two members of the public can avail of the virtual reality headsets at any one time and the artists, Alice and Paul, will be on hand to assist and guide you through the experience. Please note that headsets will be cleaned thoroughly after each use.
And if that's not your (virtual!) cup of tea we are also screening the film in our theatre. Six audience members can attend each screening which will run at 10 minute intervals between 5pm and 7pm. So you will be allowed entry for 5.10pm, 5.20pm, 5.30pm etc until 6.50pm and staff will be on hand to guide you and clean the space thoroughly between each screening. We will have organised queue points at the entrance to the theatre placed safely at 2m apart and we ask that you attend responsibly within your usual social and family circles.
We can't wait to welcome you back to the Linenhall!
