2003, Installation with Video Work DVD, B+W, Colour, Stereo, 10mins 40secs.
Winner of Perspective 2003, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast. Curator, Enrique Juncosa - Director, IMMA, Dublin
Based on the case of the New York mystic Kuda Bux who was made famous during the 1930s and 40s by his dramatic demonstrations of eyeless sight. Kuda Bux specialised in performing such feats as reading a newspaper or writing on a blackboard while blindfolded. He took his act to music halls and variety shows and made appearances at Radio City, New York. The installation ‘Kuda Bux’ takes the form of an open set referencing the theatrical nature of Bux’s performances and comprises a number of components including illuminated text, video and gathered and constructed props. The video illustrates Bux’s acts and explores the phenomenon of eyeless sight. Played through a 1950s television set the video can be viewed from a 1930s armchair, allowing the audience the opportunity to experience the work from within the installation. Illuminated text in the style of fairground/vaudeville signage spells out the name of Kuda Bux. Working from archival photographs, props such as the blackboard used during Bux’s performances have been reconstructed. These props feature in the video and are also presented within the installation.
Kuda Bux
Exhibitions and Screenings
2007 'Things We May Have Missed', Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast.
2006 'Flash on the Screen', Basekamp Gallery, Philadelphia, USA.
2006 ‘EV+A 2006’ - Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick. Curated by Katerina Gregos.
2006 ‘Platform 1’- Knockbride House, Bailliborough, Co.Cavan.
2005 ‘Belfast Way - Young Art from Northern Ireland’, Herzeliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel.
2004 ‘Inter’, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston.
2003 ‘Perspective 2003’, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast.
Awards
2003 Perspective Award Winner, Curator – Enrique Juncosa, Director Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin.
