Star Cinema

The Star cinema in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, played a pivotal role in the life of the town, providing decades of entertainment to the local population and consequently becoming the setting of many stories, romances and various minor happenings. Using this now dilapidated building as inspiration, I built up a body of work that documents this once lavish venue, whilst drawing on and reshaping collective memories of the location.

The video installation ‘Gyro’ is based on an idiosyncratic projection that was played before every film screened in this cinema. This distinctive rotating projection was particular to the Star Cinema and remains etched in the subconscious of generations of Ballyhaunis cinema-goers. Using remnants of old film reel advertisements, reminiscences of former cinema patrons and drawings, I recreated an alternative version of this unique projection, one that hints at the spellbinding timelessness of this stagnant building.