Ancestral Sap – by Etaoin Melville in Working Artist Studios

   Ancestral Sap is an exhibition that combines film, stop frame animation, drypoint print-making and painting to delve into the complexities of women’s place in the world. It seeks to unravel narratives passed down through matrilineal lines. We explore how these inheritances shape our identities and determine our roles in society. The exhibition aims to engender a sense of collective introspection, encouraging visitors to reflect upon their own matrilineal influences.

We are delighted to announce that Ancestral Sap will be launched in Working Artist Studios, Ballydehob on Fri.19th April at 5.00pm and would like to invite you to attend!

Black and Blue 2024, Stop frame animation.

How do we frame the difficult experiences in our life so they don’t become our navigation?This animation is a purging of trauma. The drawings are the result of a conversation between me and the page where the images evolve naturally, helping me to separate complex emotions so I can reach an element of clarity. Getting to know each feeling intimately, its shape, colour, temperature and texture.    Composer/ Sound Artist, Fiona Shiel.

Backbone 2023, Stop Frame Animation.

The theme is motherhood and the value we give this role, both individually and as a society. Exploring the struggles and fears of becoming a caregiver.

Faced with emotional demands but no intellectual ones, patience becomes increasingly important. This socially engaged project collected stories from mothers. It aims to highlight the pressure to be the perfect mother and work hard, often leaving one feeling overwhelmed or that they are not doing enough.

Over the last three years I have been collaborating with an aerial artist Linda Cullen, creating a multi-disciplinary performance; a work in progress performance was shown in March 2022 and our work is on-going. The animation Backbone is a part of this larger project.

Silent Voices, 2024, Film.

‘My art is the way I re-establish the bonds that unite me to the universe. It is a return to the maternal source” Ana Mendieta.

This project investigates our matrilineal lines, patterns that are passed from one generation to another. The animalistic woman shows our raw and primal instincts as protectors and mothers, in juxtaposition to the fairy-tale dress representing society’s expectations on our gender. The vast ocean mirrors our cycles with its tides. Using black and white for the faces of each generation, unified within a sense of strength, dealing with time passing and the pace of life.

Artist/Writer/Director Etaoin Melville

Videography by Giles Carey Visuals

Vocals by Erin Gallagher

Sound mix by Cormac O Connor

Cast Lola Melville, Gana Roberts and Etaoin Melville.

Etaoin Melville

Artist Bio

I am a  visual artist based in Cork. In 2014 I received a first class honors degree in Visual Art, (TUD, Sherkin Island) specialising in video and installation. In 2015 I studied Film and T.V production in St. John’s College, Cork to develop my technical knowledge. I received two Arts Council Agility Awards (2021-2022 and 2022-2023). Working in a multidisciplinary fashion I use materials that best represent my current project.  Working from Sample-Studios, Cork.

Current practice;

Building on Ana Mendieta’s idea of an approach to a practice as a universal energy, I seek to reflect the strength and fragility of life using situationism, abstraction and multilingual performance, video and moving images to express the complex idea of vulnerability. My work manifests across a number of forms of experimental intersectionality; through live performances, collaborations with circus performers, composers and through experimental lens based media.

My research area is focused on the juxtaposition of modern society and ancient culture; our domestic lives, the land and struggle within which we find ourselves. Often I use humour to create art in a state of play and improvisation to bring a spontaneity and lightness to the work.

Over the last two years I have been collaborating with Linda Cullen (aerial artist, writer and performer) on a project called Backbone. Focusing on issues around motherhood and the value we hold individually and as a society for this role. I have started to expand this investigation through socially engaged co-created works. I have the ambition to bring the work to a more resolved conclusion through further collaborations.

I’m currently being mentored by Aideen Barry, supported by the Arts Council Ireland. Aideen is teaching me new techniques in video, animation and projection mapping. She is mentoring my work towards a solo exhibition “ Ancestral Sap”.