Grief in art online performance latest in series of works on mourning

Currently part of the Cyprus Academy of Arts Residency Programme, artist Helen Kirwan presents her second online performance this Friday. Its theme? Grief and mourning. Grief-Work is a new development in Kirwan’s Memory Theatre series and her direct response to the global pandemic and the new reality in which we find ourselves.

Kirwan is known for her quiet, meditative performances and moving image installations on the themes of memory and loss; and journeying as a metaphor for loss. Her most recent work exploring these themes includes her trilogy of videos collectively known as Memory Theatre which were each unveiled at the European Cultural Centre during the last three editions of the Venice Biennale.

Grief-Work is part of Kirwan’s ongoing inquiry into mourning and loss. During her second performance of Grief-Work (presented online at performanceartinthevirtual.com), Kirwan will seemingly endlessly pick stems off fallen branches of Cypress trees. “Viewers will become immersed in a compelling, absorbing experience as they watch these seemingly endless repetitions,” say organisers. Kirwan regards these seemingly endless, repetitive tasks and absurd processes as metaphors for the mourning process and as a medium for the metaphorical construction of memory.

Cypress trees have many symbolic connotations with death, immortality and mourning in cultures around the world. “In Greek mythology,” organisers add, “Cyparissus was a young boy who accidentally killed his beloved tame deer in a forest. He was so grief-stricken that he asked to weep forever; instead, he was transformed into a Cypress tree with the tree’s sap as his tears. Cypress trees are associated also with the underworld because they do not regenerate when cut back severely. They often stand as grave markers and traditionally, branches were brought into the homes of deceased persons.”

Kirwan’s work draws on her own experience of mourning the loss of a loved one. Kirwan believes that grief needs attention, respect and expression, especially now, with millions of people losing their lives during the pandemic and countless more in mourning.

“The necessary measures to overcome the pandemic have complicated and intensified grief through the restrictions on contact with the dying. The basic human need and desire to touch has often been denied and being unable to touch and hug a dying loved one must be one of the most unutterably painful and poignant features of the pandemic across the globe,” she said.

Kirwan’s performances attempt, for fleeting moments, to give grief expression and to open up spaces and time for quiet moments of contemplation of grief and mourning. During her residency with the Cyprus Academy of Arts Residency Programme, Kirwan will undertake further performances of Grief-Work from her studio and on location, bi-weekly until mid-April 2021.

Grief Work

Online performance by artist Helen Kirwan. Artist in residence with the Cyprus Academy of Arts Residency Programme. March 12. 6pm GMT. https://performanceartinthevirtual.com/