Art can often be the vessel for a message to sail across the sea. When an act of such importance requires more than words to be understood Emma Scully (23) dives into practice with a magnificent display of empathy and solidarity. Emma is from Cork and a recent graduate of NCAD. Here, is where she worked for one year on her exhibition titled “I Will Surviva”: a project which aims to produce a hand-printed and hand-stitched patchwork quilt as an ode to the people of Ireland and around the world who experience homelessness. To accompany Emma’s patchwork quilt, the artist also performed a live act lasting 9825 seconds, with each second representing a person currently experiencing homelessness in Ireland. What a way to leave your stamp on not only the college you attended but an entire nation as well.
The direction of the live performance captured a collection of tones and moods. In one aspect we feel comforted being in a bedroom under a warm quilt and safe from harm… yet contrastingly there exists an eerie atmosphere to accompany us within the safety of the space. The photography of the exhibition captured by Fionnán Simpson exemplifies the feelings sought from the exhibition and questions our emotions throughout the performance. Should we be happy to know there is safety or should we feel sorrow understanding why there is a need for safety?
Dedicating a year of work towards producing a major project is a challenging task. Remaining resilient until the conclusion and constantly working towards that vision you have becomes true is a major accomplishment. How it’s design changes along the way yet the core message remains true throughout the journey. Emma Scully’s exhibition “I Will Surviva” is an immaculate way for her to cap off the year of work and leave her artistic stamp on Ireland. We spoke with Emma to discover the artist behind “I Will Surviva” and see unfold where all this inspiration arose from. You can read her interview here >> https://void.ie/i-will-surviva/