I was recently asked to shoot publicity images for a project created by dancer/choreographer Emma Martin, entitled 'Listowel Syndrome'. It was a very interesting proposition; the work is based around a story that featured heavily in the irish news over the last couple of years, revolving around a conviction for sexual assault by a club doorman in the town of Listowel, and the rather strange reaction that he received from the local community upon his conviction. They basically lined up and gave him an honour guard and applauded him out of the courtroom.
The subject matter is pretty bleak, and Emma is tying it in to the legend of Faust; we really wanted darkness, a sense of despair, to come out in the images. I had in my mind as inspiration the movies of Nick Roeg, and the photographs of Cindy Sherman.
Emma had found a fabulous location out in the wilds of Co Meath, which really gave us the foundation to build the images upon, and Emma was a delight to work with; not a word of complaint, even as the late was fading and the temperature plummeting...
'Listowel Syndrome' will premiere as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival, 2010.
