Urban Hacking project. CLIMBING THE WALLS. 2011
CLIMBING THE WALLS. 2011
climbing the walls. from angie on Vimeo.
‘Climbing The Walls’ (video 1.24 min) Nov. 2011 was made in response to the ‘Urban Hacking’ project in the first semester. This video was both a response to personal issues I was dealing with at the time and a reference to the in-house prison term “Gate Fever”(the mental state of agitation and anxiety experienced in prison by a prisoner before their release back into the community).
The work consists of a night shoot of my 6-year-old in a hoodie running towards the entrance to a prison compound. We see the silhouette of the child climbing what appears to be an exterior prison wall, implying climbing in too, as opposed to out of prison. The video ends with a silhouette of the child, arms raised in defiance and a shot of a police van driving towards the prison.
On one level the work is intended as a commentary on recidivism in the prison system, the institutionalized perception that prison is a ‘safe’ (safer) environment from the outside world, and plays on a notion that juveniles actively seek to be committed to elevate their street cred. Notions of freedom of choice, manic illogical thought patterns & behavior, safety and defiance can also be read from the work. Castlerea prison Co. Roscommon was previously the county psychiatric hospital before being closed down in the 1980’s and then reopened as a prison.
on exhibition-V.A.P.I.D Le Cat Salon Backloft Gallery Dublin 2013, The Moon Light Cinema Club 2014, Homeland Video Loop Festival Barcelona, Spain and Damer House Gallery Roscrea Ireland 2014
angie duignan 
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