Orlagh Meegan-Gallagher has created a permanent public exhibition of multidisciplinary artworks for Carrickmacross Workhouse helping to tell the story of this building's dark past during the Great Famine. Commissioned by Carrickmacross Workhouse and funded by the International Fund for Ireland and Monaghan County Council.
Large textile panel. Hand dyed, hand and machine embroidered, beaded, appliqued and hand painted silk. Based on Professor Christine Kinealy's book 'A Death Dealing Famine' and inspired by her 15 years research into ship records to see what foodstuffs were actually being exported out of Ireland during the Great Famine
Art installation using an original hat rack and situated in the Board of Guardians room in Carrickmacross Workhouse. Each hat represents a member of the Board during the Great Famine with images on each hat linked to their influence and impact on the 'inmates' of the workhouse and in the area of Carrickmacross. Inspired by the surviving minutes of the meeting held there during that time.
Acrylic paintings. This triptych represents the ocean voyage of emigrants to Australia, America, Canada etc. Monaghan is a land-locked county and most people would never have seen the sea before and were now faced with a hellish journey on 'coffin ships' with a seemingly endless vista of ocean to cross.
Pyrography and painting on original panel and cupboard door from Carrickmacross Workhouse. This piece remembers all the people who left Carrickmacross Workhouse and the local area to emigrate during the Great Famine, the terrible journey they endured in 'coffin ships' and the loved ones they left behind. This piece is not yet on display
Artist with her textile art piece 'A Stitch in Time' The finished textile art piece for 14 Henrietta Street: a scroll with antique textile mill spools...each fabric was worn by the women of the house or were fabrics they used in their homes. Every part of it has meaning. The stitches of each woman from each era join the piece together and connect the lives of each woman through the centuries. Sometimes the stitches become barely visible as they represent the unseen, disregarded women like the many servants who lived and worked in the house or the women who struggled in dire conditions in the tenements. At the end the fabrics change direction, representing the museum now, using drawings from children Orlagh worked with which she converted into little silk paintings and the stitches done during the museums Culture Club events. None of this could have happened without consultation with staff, tour guides, historians and members of the public. The whole artwork is wrapped in a beautiful piece of antique shroud linen from the 1800s, donated to by @theparloureventhire to honour the many women and girls who lived and died in the house over 300 years of it's history
The Artwork is designed to be portable and can be shown, not only in the museum itself, but also can be taken out of the building easily to various community events etc. Social engagement and inclusion are a strong part of Orlaghs practice.
