Barry W Hughes / Bahs

Statement (28 July 2005)

On 28 July 2005 the Irish Republican Army issued a statement whereby they officially disbanded the illegal paramilitary organisation and acknowledged that the future of Northern Ireland lay in diplomatic politics. The IRA stated that it was putting its arms permanently beyond use and that it was in the process of debriefing all its members. The statement was read out y an ex-member of the IRA on a home-made video, which was then made public to the entire world via television and then the press.

On 28 July 2005, I photographed a television interview with a Unionist MP in reaction to the IRA statement, which was broadcast live on television. The reaction was one of cautious welcome, and delibeate pedantry concerning the language used in the statement.

Subsequently I took specific power words such as 'comply' or 'assist' from the text of the IRA statement, pulished in the Irish Times, and superimposed those words onto the photographs of the Unionist MP's TV interview. Six words in all were chosen for the six black and white images.

Barry W. Hughes / Bahs

(Edited by Peter Fitzgerald, CIRCA Art Magazine, Issue 119)

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Statement (28 July 2005)

The complimentary animation specifically created for the web is linked below

 Endgame (26 September 2005)