Digtal Media

In these digital prints, I ripped up pages of the bible and glued them onto a sheet of fabriano, I then scanned them into photoshop and edited them. I layered both of them with biblical quotes from the bible referring to "whores" ( many of the women who were admitted into the laundries, were prostitutes or had gotten pregnant outside of marriage ) I then layered the first one with an image of the plaque on the front door which still says "Good Shepherd Convent". I then layered the second one with an image of the empty statue in the front of the garden.

Church Radiator

The church has really old brown radiators. They have been there since when the Laundries still ran. There is something that is quite oppressive about these radiators, the verticals lines of the pipes remind me of a jail cell - further emphasizing that the girls were imprisoned in the institute. I took photographs of this and layered it n the same style that I layered the confessional box.

Bible work

Since I have been looking up biblical terms, I decided that the Bible itself should become a part of my work. I have only started exploring this but I hope to carry it through.  I bought a bible, and have now begun to hollow it out, it has taken me 4 blades already and I am only a quarter of the way through so it wont by completed in time for progress reviews. Once completed I am hoping to fill it with different juxtaposing items, perhaps a bar of soap as the girls used to scrub the dirty laundry by hand using bars of soap.

I also purchased another hard back book. I opened it in the middle and painted it white. I then bought some thorns and glued them on, in the hope they would look like text - biblical text. also referring to the crown of thorns jesus wore on the cross. this is still a work in progress and only my first attempt.

Confessional Box

This is a digital print of the confessional box just inside the college, attached to the church part of the building. One of the nuns "mottos" was 'labour for the salvation of souls'. This labour was a form of penance for their sins. I really liked how this photograph turned out. It is actually 2 photographs layered and edited in photoshop. I think it brings out the dominating, monumental qualities of this Institute. I am going to photograph more confessional boxes around Limerick. I am hoping to gain access to the Franciscan Church in town to take more photographs like these.

No access to the attics :(

Unfortunately, I was no granted access to the college attics. I am very disappointed over this as I know the attics have not changed at all since the time of the Magdalene Laundries. I will stick to the rules though and continue to take photographs on the areas I am allowed to visit. I also decided to photograph the attic windows from the front of the college. I think that these are rather effective and add an eerie, mysterious quality. I am very tempted to try an etching & aquatint of these as I adore the tonal qualities.

The empty statue in the front Garden

In the front garden, set into the wall, there is a statue plint, with a plaque, however the statue is missing. It was taken away since the Laundries closed. I find this piece very interesting and I am hoping to work with it further. The religious element of the statue has been removed, yet the foundations are still intact - quite like the Laundries. The girls who were admitted to the Laundries, never learned anything about religion - they only learned how to scrub laundry.

Photographs from the Inside of the Front door

On the front door there is a small little latch that can open from the inside to reveal a little vent/grill. From the inside you can peek out into the gardens. I imagine that some of the little girls used to look out longingly from the inside, only wishing they could play in the garden instead of working in silence and in misery. I took a number of photographs of this view.

The front door of the Convent

The front door of the Good Shepherd Convent, where the nuns first brought the young girls into the Institute, still stands present at the front of the college today. One thing that I noticed that was present in many of the stories from the survivors, was that the image of the red front door stood out very clearly in their memory.

I decided to silkscreen this image of the oppressive front door in a 3 color silkscreen - using a light yellow for the color of the college walls and a dominating, harsh red for the front door. I then screened the door in a black bitmap on top. This is still a work in progress. I am currently trying to get my hands on a transparent varnish that can be silkscreened with. I want to screen biblical quotes that combine both doors and quotes.

"For a wide door for effective work has opened to me.." 1 Corinthians 16:9