Nothing Wild On Your Travels? / On The Way To Work
I have work in a group exhibition, Cúram, at the Hyde Bridge Gallery in Sligo town from 8th – 29th October 2019 (launch is at 5.30pm on Tues 8th Oct). Artists that also work as carers were invited to work with some of their clients and have them ‘be the catalyst for new creative work’.
‘Cúram is a four person exhibition by artists Daniel Chester, Cherry Dowling, Amy McGovern and Stephen Rennicks as part of the Arts & Health Programme 2019 delivered by Sligo County Council Arts Service. Curated by Catherine Fanning. Funded by Sligo County Council, HSE West and the Arts Council of Ireland.’
I qualified in Healthcare Support in early 2017 and since then have been working full-time as a carer/PA for a home-care company in Co. Sligo. This position entails making visits to people with disabilities and healthcare needs, some of whom are close to death. My duties can include helping clients getting up, personal care, dressing, feeding, light housework and putting them to bed.
Due to confidentiality agreements there are of course somethings I can’t talk about or reveal. I decided this need not be a limitation of the project but a determining factor as it reflects the reality of the job.
I initially chose to focus on clients who are largely house-bound; the main title of the project in fact came from one of them (who has since died). I noticed he would almost always ask me this question when I would arrive each day. One of the first things to strike me was that while these clients can be very up to date with national and international news, what they really crave are more localised reports from the everyday (the stages of nature, who I passed on the road or whether it had rained in Ballymote etc). I started gathering this type of information for them, which helped form some common ground and the project evolved from there.
I decided to use photography as I often had to work quickly, on the way to work or on breaks between visits. As I explained the project to my clients and what I was interested in capturing for my own art they began to suggest places I might visit nearby. At least half of my final selections I would therefore see as collaborative as I would not have found these locations without their local knowledge.
The 8 postcard versions from out of my 14 main images (4 of which are featured here) were necessary for me to bring part of the exhibition to the clients as the gallery happens not to be wheelchair accessible. The people I work with would all have a free public travel pass but in the main cannot avail of it fully or at all. When I would recount my steps in locating the places I photographed, it was gratifying to see them freely travelling with me in their mind’s eye.
I made my final selection with three main themes in mind, I wanted to show aspects of the everyday, reflect the depopulated and mostly rural landscape I normally work in and also try to express how my job has made me feel about my own mortality. Any one of these photos could be starting points for future projects.
Stephen Rennicks
Stephen Rennicks 