Orla Barry Breaking Rainbows

Exploring the boundaries of art and life, Breaking Rainbows uses the relationship between wo/man and animal, and the cannibalistic, symbiotic tension between [Orla Barry] the artist and [Orla Barry] the shepherd to reflect on the primal and poetic and unpredictable bond we have with the natural world. Presented as a live performance and video installation, Orla Barry’s new work is a fascinating journey into the land of shepherding through the lens of ‘doing’ rather than ‘observing’ the job at hand. The tour will begin in Temple Bar Gallery + Studios as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, running from September 29th to November 5th 2016.

Endearing, humorous and challenging, Breaking Rainbows reflects on both our interdependence and disconnection from the natural environment. Made up of a series of vignettes, Barry’s new work brings us into a journey through time, conceptualisations and effects: from the realms of sheep farming traditions, ancient Greek shepherd’s singing competitions, contemporary consumerism and gender roles, to the intimate relationship of caring for a sheep about to give birth.

Interweaving live performance, video, a 300 kg pile of wool produced on Barry’s farm in 2015, and an aural landscape which touches many different forms of speech, Breaking Rainbows is congruous with Orla Barry’s multidisciplinary aesthetic. However, as in her most recent work, Mountain, it also marks a new step in her trajectory by introducing chance procedures and a collaborative approach to the development of the texts. This results in the stories being reinvented and reshaped, defying notions of ownership, authorship and authenticity, and thus also reflecting on the nature of oral storytelling as transferred throughout generations. This is played out in an unpredictable dramaturgy in which no performance or experience of the installation is the same.

Orla Barry is both visual artist and shepherd. She lived in Brussels for sixteen years and now runs a flock of pedigree Lleyn sheep in rural Wexford. A leitmotif running through her recent work is the human disconnection from the natural environment. Barry writes, and makes performances, video and sound installations. She has shown work at The Irish Museum of Modern Art, SMAK and Tate Modern, amongst others, as well as taking part in Manifesta 2

written and directed by Orla Barry
with the collaboration of Einat Tuchman, Derrick Devine
assistant director: Noelia Ruiz
commissioned and produced by Wexford Arts Centre, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios
co-production Kaaitheater, ARGOS centre for art and media, Crawford Art Gallery
funded by Arts Council of Ireland
support Dublin Theatre Festival, Midsummer Festival Cork, Opera Festival Wexford, IMMA’s Residency Program

Breaking Rainbows is supported by an Arts Council Touring and Dissemination of Work Award.

Orla Barry (b. 1969) studied at University of Ulster, Belfast and De Ateliers Amsterdam. Recent exhibitions and projects include Project Arts Centre, Dublin; The South London Gallery; Tate Modern London; If I can't dance, Amsterdam, IMMA.

Breaking Rainbows Tour:

Crawford Art Gallery & Cork Midsummer Festival: Performance 22-23 June | Exhibition June - August 2017
Kaai Theatre, Brussels & Argos Centre for Arts and Media: Performance 25-26 March 2017 | Exhibition 27 March - 30 April 2017
Wexford Arts Centre: Performance: 19-20 October | Exhibition: 21 October-18 November 2017