AIB Eigse exhibition

APT artist Kevin Gaffney`s "Our Stranded Friends in Distant Lands" will be exhibited as part of the AIB Eigse exhibition at VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art.

Kevin Gaffney`s short film begins with a news report, part pastiche and part allegory, about the activities of birds navigating the border between North & South Korea. We are then introduced to one of the characters, who uses a telescopic lens to imagine what the moon looks like when viewed from the North. Interspersed throughout the film, an almost full moon moves across the screen, acting as a clock against which all the characters exist. Next, from these outward observations, we move into a character’s dissatisfaction with a controlling relationship. Finally, an internal monologue, ruminating and fixating on death, leads us back to both the absence and presence of war; "An alarm sounds for the train’s arrival. It recalls a bomb shelter siren, and is quite at odds with the shiny cars lining up at the railroad crossing."

Filmed on location in Seoul and in purpose-built sets, three participants from South Korea (Hyunyoung Ryu, Daewon Yun and Sulah Kwon) narrate the film and perform the roles. Written & directed by Kevin Gaffney.