Ec(h)o

I am delighted that after a few years of gestation, including my long-time fixation with the idea of a ring of fire -last year I finished this 16-minute-long film poem about the elements that create our world.

The project takes its title from Greek mythology. Echo in Greek mythology is the nymph whose own voice is never heard. She is cursed to repeat what she hears, thus she is ignored by all. This can be seen as an analogy for present-day attitudes to ecology disregarding the threat of extinction. Eco-activists echo what they have said many times. Who is listening?

For Ec(h)o, I developed an immersive installation supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Although I would argue that the 16-minute long film, screened in a loop, would be immersive in itself, the presentation, or installation is planned as a multisensory experience. I want to engage as many senses as possible, sight, sound, spatial awareness, movement and touch. The footage is made up of four video poems, each representing an element – air, water, earth, fire, with animation, screened in a loop, on three huge screens at Armagh Planetarium. The film screening is part of an exhibition on climate change. A globe is in the middle of the room where through touch control, the audience can explore the planets of our solar system. Can we leave this planet and go out there? Exploring them it is the more amazing that only our blue planet has life as we know it. Our precious Earth.

I am glad as the Planetarium has daily visits of school children and college students in big numbers, and perhaps, this artwork can raise as much awareness as the information in the Copernicus Hall on the floor: maps that show us how flooded Northern Ireland will be in 2100 - the Titanic Museum will be under water. Another sinking forecast? I won't be here to see it, but my grandchildren might and I wish them a better future.

Ec(h)o will be on the programme of the Planetarium from 20th April until 12th May. I will have an artist talk on Saturday 27th at 1 pm. Hope to see you there.