As some of ye may know, I took part in the Culture Night, Friday last (17th Sep), I want to thank Shane Crossan, Annaly Hotel and staff, and Spirit Clothing and staff, they allowed me the space to have my exhibit. Shane Crossan and his very handyman father who helped me with the staging of the exhibit. Also a very special thank you to Revamp 3R Store for the installation parts, and the same thanks to Hungry Horse Outside Charity shop for the filing cabinet, that was part of my exhibition.

The exhibition was about the importance and relevance of a photographic archive, this was my mission statement: ”

Artist Michael Croghan in association with Longford Library and Archivist Martin Morris, responds to Longford Library photographic archive. 

The Archive and the Photographic image is highly important, has a social and historical relevance, highlighting the hidden cultures of a place. The more volume of a wide ranging Archive specific to one place, the better understanding and study of that place. The meaning of archives changes with the culture of the day – they are not innocent, they are fluid pieces of history. Collaborating with Longford Library Archivist Martin Morris, Michael has corresponded his own findings with that of the Archive held within the Library.

This exhibition welcomes public engagement, adding to the exhibit with real time relevance to the exhibit. The trope is of local interest, in lesser known photographs of Longford, coming from the Archive that is supplied by public and private collections, mixed with everyday images and commercial and newsworthy photographs. The exhibition has four parts in all, with the aim of furthering Archive Cognizance.”

The four part installation was as follows, part one familiarity of home and the loss of images with families, for many reasons.

Two was the precariousness of archiving itself.

The third part was the Archive selection I made from the library files, lesser known photographs of County Longford, which I screened via a projector with the exhibit.

The fourth part was the audience participation, I got people to respond to the photographs, by writing two things, age and keywords they took from the photographs. This was to show in one show you can see the variables and different understandings, thus showing the fact that archives are not innocent, they change with time and cultures. Reviewing old imagery gives image’s a new agency, a new eye and understanding, and proves the worth of archiving photography, as I have said in my project statement it has great value in ” …has a social and historical relevance, highlighting the hidden cultures of a place. The more volume of a wide ranging Archive specific to one place, the better understanding and study of that place”. Below image represents the keywords expressed by them that partook in the exhibition on the day, to whom I am also grateful.

KEYWORDS BY AGES – Fluidity of culture and time experiment – in a space of few hours

The Lesser Known photographs of County Longford from Longford Library and Archivist Martin Morris, which is reliant on Private and Commercial donations.