Conceived during the COVID-19 lockdown as an online project, Ireland: A Dataset is performed in front of a live audience for the first time at hcmf// 2023. Experimental vocal group Tonnta will be joined by saxophonist Nick Roth along with sound engineering from Úna Monaghan and lighting from Aedín Cosgrove, the group coming together to deliver a boisterous radiophonic play exploring Irish identity through issues of nationalism, representation, and inclusion.
Identity, Walshe suggests, is created by the ‘dataset’ we consume: “An idea of a country is built from the films you watch about that country, the images that are presented to you… But we can change it, we can intervene, and AI [Artificial Intelligence] shows that very bluntly.” Just as an AI is trained by a determined dataset, Walshe looks to develop a new dataset through this performance, assisted by that same technology: neural networks dream in psychedelic John Hinde greens, while AI listens to Enya, Riverdance and the Dubliners, and develops its own version of sean-nós singing to be performed by Tonnta.
A narrative featuring visual imagery, musical accompaniment, projections and radio drama routines, Ireland: A Dataset is an intrepid attempt to discern Ireland in a time when everything from its landscapes to its identities have been idealised, appropriated, and remixed beyond recognition.
