The Lay of the Land
An exhibition by Array Collective

The Lay of the Land is an exhibition by Array Collective with members Laura O’Connor and Thomas Wells and invited artists Emma Brennan, Marta Dyczkowska, Méabh Meir, and Sally O’Dowd.

“As is often the way with ancient history and folklore, multiple theories surround the purpose of the Black Pig’s Dyke. Some regard it as an example of Ulster always being divided, others see it as a barricade for enclosing animals, or even as a display of power. In folklore the dyke was torn up by a raging headmaster and piled by a mythological worm. And just like these interchangeable stories of the dyke, borders too interchange and shift in meaning depending on who tells the story.

The Lay of the Land took the form of a gallery exhibition at the Townhall Cavan, where six banners hang, a sigil for the Dyke created by each artist. A day of performance art at the Cavan Arts Festival at Con Smith Park presented each artist’s response to the folklore surrounding The Black Pig’s Dyke. Drawing on identity politics, queer histories and the body as a border, the artists in The Lay of the Land take multiple approaches to responding to the ancient earthwork.”

For more information visit
http://www.arraystudiosbelfast.com/

The Lay of the Land Performances
Cavan Arts Festival
May 20th 2023
2pm-5pm

Pigs Tits Gold Nips – The performance.
Perhaps the folktale goes, that having fed her brood, the big black dripping pig tore through the land with her engorged knockers, carving out ditches as she raged through the landscape. In the performance Sally wore an apron with multiple teets, spraying liquid, working out, and engaging in conversation.

Array Collective won the Turner Prize in 2021.

All photos by Sally O’Dowd