Ionad an Bhlascaoid / The Blasket Centre

The Memory Well

Projected from above onto the floor, this film tells the story of an extraordinary island community. Visitors sit around a circular bench and view the Memory Well in the round.

The programme draws on archival footage of islanders in their homes and fishing at sea. The lo-fi image quality belongs to that original footage and is part of its character.

A connected interpretation scheme

The Memory Well formed part of the interpretation Atacama undertook for OPW at Ionad an Bhlascaoid / The Blasket Centre. Other programmes included an immersive installation where visitors could learn Gaelic, an aerial film of the islands projected above a map model, and a range of touchscreen interactives.

Long before drones, we shot the aerial film from a small helicopter, capturing the islands from the air.

Media and systems together

In the main AV theatre, radio headsets let visitors follow the film in different languages through a multichannel video server. We installed all the AV and interactive hardware for the project, including bespoke, fanless, solid-state touchscreen systems of our own design.

A memorable collaboration

We loved working with OPW and the people of Dingle, especially Micheal de Mórdha and Dáithí de Mórdha. It was a memorable and wonderful project in one of Ireland’s most magical and timeless places.