Cinememory
Cinememory focuses on The Royal in Limerick City; a historical cinema which has been closed since 1985. The artwork takes the form of an immersive audiovisual installation, composed from sound and video materials recorded inside the decaying building.
Using two projectors and two sets of stereo speakers, the installation seeks to evoke an experience of layered time. One side of the space represents the present — the other signifies the past. Moving through the space, visitors experience site-specific sound recordings blending with sonic motifs which reference the spirited history of The Royal.
Cinememory explores themes of loss, nostalgia and liminality. It seeks to examine the haunted nature of existence which results from the constant presence of the past within modern life.
* The artwork was first exhibited at The University of Limerick in August 2022. The project was created in tandem with a written Masters thesis entitled ‘Cinememory: examining loss, hauntology and layered time through audiovisual installation.’
Phone image documentation of the former Royal Cinema, Limerick
Two separate video and sound files were created. These were projected and amplified simultaneously.
The video above provides an overview of the installation (exhibited at The University of Limerick, August 2022)
A collection of audience-submitted images from the exhibition
An original composition was created and amplified using 4-channel surround sound. The piece contains field recordings from inside The Royal, along with samples from the last film shown before the cinema’s closure in 1985. That film was Police Academy II.
All recordings were electronically processed and manipulated to evoke a disoriented, layered and stretched sensation of time.