an ongoing investigation of lineage - both imagined and archival - that engages with the question, how do we heal the wounds of our ancestors? 

Through works of sound and image, I build upon information I uncovered while doing sabbatical research in the National Archives of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and England. This material situates the paternal side of my family within the context of the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Time spent in National Archives introduces complex inquiry into the gatekeeping of information, how conflict is communicated across opposing nation states, and the particular barriers and apparatuses required to safely handle historical objects. Tending the Bloodline finds its heartbeat in primary source material that I abstract through strategic omission. 

Collaborating with people I met while working abroad, I am grateful to those who voiced my grandfather’s prison internment file. Thank you to Jonny Grogan, Aileen McErlean, Frank McHugh, and Dessie McKenzie for bringing the language of his detainment to life. Thank you to Cornish College of the Arts for your support.