7^th – 11^th November, 10am-5pm @ STAC Chapel

‘Sancta Maria’s Sanctum’ is an immersive video, sculpture, and light installation by visual artist Rayleen Clancy and takes inspiration directly from STAC Chapel, its history and in particular its stained-glass window.  

The title refers to the inscription on the main window. Taken from a speech made by the famous soldier Owen Roe O’Neill during the Battle of Benburb, it reads “Your Word is Sancta Maria, and let your Manhood be seen in your Push of Pike.” Rayleen makes reference to the aforementioned quote and, in particular, to Sancta Maria and the devotions to her that are prevalent across many religions and cultures.

Even the deepest point in the ocean, the Marianna Trench, is named in reference to Sancta Maria being named after the Spanish Queen Mariana of Austria. In this underwater world, thermal vents and fissures on the seabed discharge geothermally heated water creating a unique and abundant ecosystem. The area surrounding the vents are biologically more productive, often hosting complex communities diverse organisms, including giant tube worms, clams, limpets and shrimp. Hydrothermal vents have been hypothesised to have been a significant factor to starting abiogenesis and the survival of primitive life.

The immersive video and sculpture installation is situated in a re-imagined underwater, womb-like space honouring the feminine energies that contributed to the freedom of the state and the birth of the nation. The installation consists of several large illuminated thermal vents incorporating stained glass and covered in the detritus of rural life and objects collected by the artist on beach walks such as limpet shells. At the altar end of the Chapel is a large video projection of an underwater scene, where figures and creatures morph in and out of the frame, reminiscent of an apparition, in a pose that evokes a spiritual presence.

Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland’s Culture Night Late and Tipperary County Council.

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