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A Brief History of Conghalán

Guy Connolly

Profile picture of Guy Connolly

Photographer, videographer and director, specialising in conceptual work and visual storytelling, working with mediums including still & moving image, sculpture and text.

Photographer, videographer and director, specialising in conceptual work and visual storytelling,...

A Brief History of Conghalán, 2024, is a mixed media installation formulating narratives centring on national identity and belonging.

Thinking through the concept of archival material the project stems from my heritage which is a mix of English and Irish. Through the creation of a fictional country, its history, culture and artefacts, the work intends to trouble the reliability of historical narration and how it might affect cultural understanding of one’s lineage. 

The project questions what role material objects may have in shaping the creation of new traditions and stories, how history is told, and why? 

Final work

A small scale clay sculpture depicting a scarecrow with a plague docture style face

The Scarecrow of Arnkellag (1800's)

The Scarecrow of Arnkellag is a sculpture based off of an urban legend holding the same name, in which after a feud with his neighbour over land rights, a farmer bludgeons his neighbour to death with a rock and to hide the body, he stuffed him into a scarecrow. 

The soul of the neighbour takes over the scarecrow, with the scarecrow coming to life at night searching for vengeance against the farmer and his family, killing them all except one, the youngest child, who managed to escape from the scarecrow. 

The scarecrow is said to now wonder the farms of Arnkellag at night searching for the child that escaped. While the tale takes place in Arnkellag and the surrounding areas, there has been sightings of the Scarecrow of Arnkellag all over the country, which many has been linked to multiple disappearances of farmers all over the island. 

Two Small scale ceramic sculptures of two screaming faces

The Two Screaming Men (1600's)

The Two Screaming Men are two small sculptures based on the folklore tale of two men who visit young children at night, the men prey on young children who can’t sleep at night, they will hide in the dark unseen until the clock strikes 3:44am on the dot at which the two men reveal themselves screaming, at the top of their lungs. One screaming of fear, fear of what he will do and the child’s fear. The other of sadness, weeping like the mother who finds her child’s bed empty in the morning, the sadness and the misery of the family affected. 

However, to protect children, parents would put sculptures of the two screaming men (that have been blessed by a priest) above door frames, this supposedly creates a barrier across the door that means the two men can’t cross into the bedroom.

  • A Teaset inspired by the shape and colouring of the tulip flower
  • A teacup from the tea set, shaped like a tulip
  • A person in a scarecrow suit with a plague doctor style mask black and white photo
  • a person in a scarecrow suit with a plague doctor style mask
  • a person in a scarecrow suit with a plague doctor style mask

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A Brief History of Conghalán

A Brief History of Conghalán, 2024, is a mixed media installation formulating narratives centring on national identity and belonging.Thinking through the concept of archival material the project stems from my heritage which is a mix of English and Irish. Through the cre...

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