Dereenacappera

Artist In Residence

ARDGROOM, WEST CORK, IRELAND

October 2020

Stones To Lough Fada

Stones To Lough Fada Part I

A Field Guide

After spending two weeks just outside Cork City in Garravagh at the cabin at Road Books, I had planned to travel the West Coast of Ireland. A county lock down was introduced so my plans changed. Judy and Peter put me in touch with Frieda and Hans who run an artist in residence on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork - Dereenacappera. I headed across Co. Cork to Argroom, a small village tucked between Kenmare Bay and the Caha mountains. 

I stayed for one week exploring the area and documenting my time with film, photography, drawings and recording tunes on my wooden flute and melodica. Some of the tunes were recorded in The Barn and some out in the landscape.

Frieda gave me a tour of their beautiful home, studios and land. They have planted trees over the last 10 years and there are currently about 15,000 trees on their 16 acres of land. Surrounding their 16 acres is a beautiful vista of the Caha mountains and commonage land. A direct route to Lough Fada is to cross the commonage land which is very boggy in parts so Frieda had placed quartz stones from the local beach in small piles as a guide to make the route a little easier for visitors. I followed the stones, sketching and photographing these small piles of stones glowing from the earth along the way. As I arrived to the lake I had recorded 44 piles of stones.

An Invitation

When I came back to the UK I made a film from the images and flute recordings. I slowed down the flute recordings and layered these as a sound collage to create a more abstract ethereal soundscape. Words kept coming to mind as I was editing the film. I experimented with overlaying the photographs with these words as visual text and then as voice recordings. I then realised my words didn’t feel right for this project but to invite others to respond to the piece.

The invitations to friends, musicians, artists and poets were sent. I wanted the process to unfold organically so I didn’t want to be too specific, just inviting participants to speak words that resonated into a recording device as the film played in whatever way they felt moved. From this I would find a way to bring it all together. 

When I received Frieda’s response, I knew her words needed to stand alone as she is so part of the landscape. I decided to make the film in two parts using the same photographs for each film. The first part without the soundscape and just the photographs with spoken word from Frieda followed by a flute tune inspired from the land. The second includes the same photographs, the abstracted soundscape and the voices of eleven participants.

Stones To Lough Fada Part II

My memory takes me back to walking on this wild open landscape in West Cork last October. I imagine walking the same route during this month of May. Frieda had told me about the fierce wind called the Scairbhín (Scaraveen) that blows in from the East during the months of April and May which can cause so much destruction as it passes through. All that hard work on the land can feel futile when a landscape that has taken time to grow and nurture is instantly blackened and broken from this harsh powerful wind. To be here as a visitor and see it all as idyllic and beautiful, it is good to be reminded that to live here requires tenacity, determination and a lot of strength and patience. To have a willingness to deal with such a loss and start all over again is admirable.

Abstracted Soundscape

Here is part 2 of Stones to Lough Fada with the addition of slowed down flute recordings, recordings from the sea at Gortgariff and the voices of eleven participants all layered into a collage of abstracted soundscape.

It was lovely to hear the voices gradually coming together as I layered them into the timeline. Editing the piece was an interesting process in itself. It felt similar to arranging a piece of music but with the parts already written and just finding the right places to tweak the volume to allow certain words to glow at different moments. Either on their own or flowing in and out, finding moments of synchronicity and harmony to a crescendo or clashing of words dissolving into whispers.

Feedback from one of the participants after watching the completed film was so beautifully observed as

"a weaving of time and timelessness, bones brushing against each other’s memories and laying down with the sky.” Mel Shearsmith

Thank you

Thank you Frieda Meaney, Nikki Seren, Suzanne Iuppa, Pete Judge, Jan Edwards, Adrian Price, Andrew Price, Sue Mara, Diwas Dewan, Patrick Graham, Mel Shearsmith, Carien van Hest, for your beautiful voices and words.

Thank you Frieda Meaney for placing the stones.

Thank you Frieda Meaney and Hans Leptien for time and space to explore the landscape.

Thank you to all my Patreon supporters with special thanks to Guy Malkerson and Ari Malmberg.

Photography and sound produced by Mog Fry © March 2021

Caha Mountains with Clouds

I wrote and recorded this tune while I was on the Artist in Residence at Dereenacappera.

A short tune on melodica inspired by the misty Caha mountains, open commonage land and glistening Lough Fada.

For Jenny

Film and music written and recorded by Mog Fry © October 2020

Thank you Frieda Meaney and Hans Leptien

Dereenacappera, Ardgroom Beara Co.Cork Ireland.

Released May 2021