Myriad

Myriad by Philip Kenny
An introduction to by arts writer Michaële Cutaya

​

Myriad is a poetry video where the words of Philip Kenny are responded to by the body movements of Day Magee. Both artists have known each other for many years but it is the first time they collaborate together. The words of the poem are read by Kenny and the camera follows Magee’s movements around Tivoli square in one continuous black and white take. First the camera moves towards Kenny, who is sitting with a book, as we hear the title of the poem spoken, before panning to the left towards Magee who begins walking.

​

one in constant moment, passing into another

​

The disrupted, interrupted movements of their body echo the discontinuous, almost machinic reading of the words, pausing mid sentence, even mid word at times estranging the familiar. Magee’s body is swaying, on the verge of dislocation, of losing balance, and their head thrown back.

​

each and every instance unborn and undying,

​

The disarray of the movements is emphasised by the editing of the film, making the image bleed, the stream of the words accompanying the limbs streaming into multiple of themselves on screen.

​

Save for a pause, a span, of time, unbroken

​

The performing body circumnavigates the square, walking, falling down the steps, rolling on the pavement, swinging from the handrails, running across the space and crumpling by the opposite wall. The camera, in turn, encircles the body: following, preceding, hovering, coming close, pulling back: the body and the camera and the square, a bewitching dance.

​

Autistic, a-typical, asperger, neuro divergent,

​

Both Kenny and Magee have been diagnosed within the autistic spectrum, and for both this is intimately tied to their practice. Kenny began writing poetry at eight years old as part of a speech therapy to help him communicate. For Magee who was diagnosed much later, their performance centered practice explores the body and mind (dis)connections.

​

I’d be lying if I told you these have not given me comfort

​

Magee explains that the performance movements are relating to stimming, which refers to behaviours often associated with autism, although not exclusively. They are marked by repetitive

actions and movements as a way to process excess; a protective response to the overwhelming stimuli of an unpredictable environment; helping regulate a saturated sensory response system. The rhythm and the repetitiveness of the poetry, another response, another way to process, coming together as a form of kinetic meditation.

​

How lucky is anyone in life to not feel they have to say:

​

In the video, the space that the body is attempting to mould itself into, to gain some form of understanding of, is Tivoli square, a specifically charged territory, culturally and politically contested. This was where the Tivoli theatre up to 2019 was, a performance stage which offered a safe space for all kinds of performative bodies over the years. It was closed down and demolished to make room for a Staycity Aparthotel development. The planning permission was protested against by local communities and organizations for which the theatre was the lynchpin of much of the cultural life in the Liberties. Engagements were made that the new plan would include a cultural space and that the square will remain open for cultural, social and community events. Yet, the cultural space remains an empty unit and the square, mostly used as a car park, is threatened by enclosure, the company operating the hotel having applied for the installation of a gate. This would enable the management to close the square when deemed convenient, thus controlling which bodies and what behaviours are tolerated within.

​

I am this, may I be counted?

​

Through the words of Kenny and the body movements of Magee, Myriad questions the rules, unspoken often, explicitly restrictive sometimes, that regulates public space, and what possibilities exist for different modes of being and relating.

​

Michaële Cutaya 2023

​

Kindly supported by Fingal Arts Office