Linda Ruttelynck

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The Path to Teachain a’ Watch 63.

The digital prints I’m showing for the LOP -project are inspired by the landscape around Barr na Rinne, the stories told by the descendants of the Coastwatchers and the ten LOP -logbooks from to which we attained access from the Military Archives, Dublin.

For several years now I have had the opportunity to frequently walk the magical cliffs of Ceathru na gCloch and I am always struck by the beauty of this ever changing landscape: a vast ocean, big skies and ancient rocks. My walks have often been accompanied by furious winds and heavy rainfalls. Sometimes I have almost been blown away, only to be saved by a sudden calm when hurling winds and rain are transformed into silence and blue sky, a sublime experience. And then this wonderful place invites you for a picnic with a magical view.

The Coastwatchers were searching the sky and sea, attentively listening for the sound of planes or ships or any unusual sight or sound. There were moments of full attention and activity, but also endless days and nights of lost time when there was nothing much of interest happening, nothing to report except the weather .

With this in mind I have walked the headland again on several occasions, looked, zoomed in and ‘framed’ specific observations, here time has no place.

Back in my studio I have reworked the images focusing on the universal that this layered space suggests.The war on sea and in the air is history, but somehow you can still see, feel and hear what those brave men experienced.

The beaten track to the headland Barr na Rinne and the LOP 63 is a reminder of the people such as the Coastwatchers, their family and neighbours, and more recently the many hill walkers that continue to take this same path.

Linda Ruttelynck