About

Preamhaca is a multifaceted multimedia project. An ethnographic exploration of 3 generations and their connection to a place, specifically, Baile na nGall, a village in west Kerry and the relationship my mother, my nana and I have with it. It is a study of the way of life, traditions, and roots my family has in the village.

I created this piece as a way of connecting with this place that has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and as a way of sharing the beauty and magic it holds. I decided to create a piece about Baile na nGall and the roots and bond my mother and nana have there because I knew I wanted to make something that would encapsulate the love I have for that village, the Irish language and the beauty of West Kerry.

When I began playing with the topic, I did not know what shape it would take. I knew I wanted to conduct interviews and collect some of the stories I have been told since I was little. But it was only when I began trying to put it down on paper that I realized the best format for this piece was a collage style site, where the user can move about the site as they please, finding new stories and tidbits as they went along. This piece is a collage of stories and experiences. This piece is very personal and close to my heart. As I began to note down what I wanted to feature on the site, I realised how special it will be to have all these images and interviews frozen in time to revisit whenever I please. Getting to interview my mother and nana was something I was nervous to do, but now listening back to the interviews I realize how special it is to have these stories recorded and included in this cultural archaeology piece.

I created the site using an early web aesthetic, the audio preloads and there is no fancy navigation tab nor clear formatting. A lot of the content on the site is vintage and dated looking, I wanted the look and feel of the site to reflect the content, I did not want to create a website that looked and worked like every other site. Rather my goal was to create a workbook, collage-style site, where the user must explore to move forward to the next page or to find a new piece of the story. I created this piece because I wanted to save a part of Baile na nGall forever. I wanted to bottle up the nostalgia and love I have for the village and the special meaning it holds for myself, my mother and my nana, and make it accessible to those who want to see it.

Last year I spent a lot of time with my mam and nana, during the lockdown, chatting and reminiscing, dreaming of Baile na nGall. My mam has instilled in me a great love of the Irish language and a deep appreciation for this beautiful place. I wanted to make something that could convey this love and appreciation. In a way this project allowed me to foster a deeper connection with my mother and nana. It took a very long time to complete this project, I conducted a number of interviews, collected images, photographs and maps, searched through archives and travelled to Kerry to take pictures of the village and record the sound of the area. Once I had all of the material collected, I had to decide on the mode in which I would show my work. I settled on collage as the methodology, I liked the idea of using the little pieces to create a new whole. All the stories I collected, together with the images and sounds, create a new place, a new feeling.

This project was a joy to work on. I had a lot of fun experimenting with ways to portray the visuals and stories and feelings I had collected and looked at different ways to allow people to explore my work. I am so proud of this project and how it grew and evolved as I worked on it. I learned skills and work practices I had never used before, and I am in love with what has come out of it. Not only did I get to create this beautiful site that acts as a scrapbook one can explore and hear beautiful stories and memories. I got to create new memories with my mother and nana as they helped me along the way all through this process. I will cherish this project forever.

You can explore the project at preamacha.ie