Click image to see Stones to Lough Fada Part 2 (15m56s)
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