O'Tooles, 1865 from Richard Medina on Vimeo.
"O'Tooles, 1865" is a multimedia installation and performance that presents the commodification and abuse of the Irish during the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The project consists of several ritualized performances dealing with disease and cleanliness, the preparation of the potato, and the depletion of resources.
I am mostly Irish, with Irish ancestors on both sides of my family. My mother's side, the O'Tooles, immigrated to the US following the Irish Potato Famine in 1865, on the same day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Whether it currently affects my personal upbringing or not, Ireland and Irish culture have significantly influenced my life.
The installation consists of a chair in the center of the room, a bucket of warm water in front of it, a sack of potatoes and a stack of soap to the right, a cutting board with a knife and vegetable peeler to the left, and a box of plastic wrap also to the left. The performance involves me interacting with each component in a sequence reminiscent of factory work. The sequence is as follows: I sit in the chair and open a box of soap. I use the peeler to skin the soap into the bucket of water. When the soap is peeled down sufficiently, I take out a potato. I wash the potato with the soap, and then chop it into pieces. I wrap each potato segment in plastic wrap and then present it forward in a pile. The audience is encouraged to either take a chunk, thereby contributing to the commodification of Irish tradition, or to abstain from interaction with the performance.
Additionally, there are several smaller sculptures acting as semi-documents of the main installation. They deal with farming and cleanliness, the anti-Irish sentiment, and the Industrial Revolution.
I am mostly Irish, with Irish ancestors on both sides of my family. My mother's side, the O'Tooles, immigrated to the US following the Irish Potato Famine in 1865, on the same day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Whether it currently affects my personal upbringing or not, Ireland and Irish culture have significantly influenced my life.
The installation consists of a chair in the center of the room, a bucket of warm water in front of it, a sack of potatoes and a stack of soap to the right, a cutting board with a knife and vegetable peeler to the left, and a box of plastic wrap also to the left. The performance involves me interacting with each component in a sequence reminiscent of factory work. The sequence is as follows: I sit in the chair and open a box of soap. I use the peeler to skin the soap into the bucket of water. When the soap is peeled down sufficiently, I take out a potato. I wash the potato with the soap, and then chop it into pieces. I wrap each potato segment in plastic wrap and then present it forward in a pile. The audience is encouraged to either take a chunk, thereby contributing to the commodification of Irish tradition, or to abstain from interaction with the performance.
Additionally, there are several smaller sculptures acting as semi-documents of the main installation. They deal with farming and cleanliness, the anti-Irish sentiment, and the Industrial Revolution.
Semi-document (Packing peanuts)
Semi-document (Celtic knot)
Semi-document (Figure)
Passages, cloth tubes. Participants are meant to crawl through the tunnel in a synthesis of interactive sculpture and performance.
Bodies. Stack of cardboard boxes.
Our Land. Paper soaked in water.
Fifty Ships. Wood planks.
Sixteen Mouths. Soap and potatoes.
Broken Row. Soil.
Abstractions.
Installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. Foam blocks were placed on the floor, and a monitor displayed instructions on how to manipulate them.
