Folly & Diction (2020) by Alan Phelan

While, due to COVID restrictions, you cannot experience the current solo exhibition by Irish artist Alan Phelan in person, we thought we could bring a little bit of it to you.

Folly & Diction (2020) forms part of echoes are always more muted by Alan Phelan. John Joly, the inventor of the photographic Joly screen process, provides the biographical background to the 15-minute film which, instead of a detailed documentary, is based on the music video format and provides the structure – with a narrative taken from a Samuel Beckett short story and narration in the form of song lyrics, culled from a poem by Jean Genet. The video tells an oblique story of loss, a forgotten history, and a failed relationship with his collaborator Henry Dixon. It brings Joly’s photographic process into a contemporary sphere with audio responsive animated stripes that pulse to the music and crude video layering that draws on multiple music video tropes.

We do hope that we can reopen soon – please stay tuned here for further updates – and we look forward to welcoming you back to view the film in person.