Overview
Working principally in photography and video, Roderick Buchanan is interested in how human identity is shaped and expressed. He is particularly well known for a series of works exploring Loyalist and Republican communities in Scotland.
His latest work, Understanding versus Sympathy, is a video portrait of the Irish historian Owen Dudley Edwards explored through the prism of Dudley Edward’s lifelong engagement with the ideas of James Connolly. A key figure in the 1916 Easter Rising and widely commemorated across Ireland, it is less well known that James Connolly was born in Edinburgh. Dudley Edwards is central to Edinburgh’s intellectual public life and through a lifetime of research and study can reach back further than most into the collective memory of the city.
James Connolly, born in Edinburgh, became a militant activist in Dublin. Owen Dudley Edwards, from Dublin, found an intellectual home in Edinburgh. Understanding versus Sympathy reflects on the intertwined lives of two great figures in Scottish public life.
Roderick Buchanan was brought up in Glasgow in the 1970s and 80s where Connolly’s name was only ever spoken in a whisper. Presented in the church that was the centre of ‘Little Ireland’ in the 19th century, this newly commissioned artwork reflects a growing awareness in Scotland of Connolly’s intellectual place in European history.
Roderick Buchanan will be giving an Artist's talk on Saturday 20th August at 12 noon. Reserve a space here.
Access information:
Understanding versus Sympathy is located in St Patrick’s Church on the Cowgate. Taxis can drop in front of the building and there is a car park located nearby on Blackfriars Street. The main access to the building is up a small set of steps but there is full disabled access via the side entrance located on South Gray’s Close. This artwork is a video piece lasting 1 hour 30 minutes shown on a loop. A transcript of the video will be available to request after the festival. Benches are provided for viewing the work. Toilet facilities are available at the church.
Supported by the Scottish Government Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, Event Scotland, and St. Patrick's Church.
Part of the 2016 Edinburgh Art Festival Commissions programme.
When
Mon – Sun, 10am – 6pm
Where
St Patrick’s Church
Cowgate,
Edinburgh, EH1 1TQ
