Experiencing Interruptions?

Coming Full Circle

In 1975, world-renowned sculptor Richard Long created “A Circle in Ireland” at The Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare, Ireland one of the most dramatic and iconic environmental sites in the world. Over the years the stone circle had fallen into disrepair. A group of post graduate students at the nearby Burren College of Art created a performative restoration of the circle during the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown which allowed only 15 people to gather together outdoors. The group, directed by their lecturer and visual artist Áine Phillips, performed an evocative action of reconstruction that represented a deeper metaphor, not only a reparation of the stone monument but human and environmental healing. The performance was filmed by Tom Flanagan and produced by the Burren College of Art.

Funded by Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, Clare Arts Office and Creative Ireland

  • Aine Phillips
    Director
    Buttered Up 2017, Redress 2010
  • Burren College of Art County Clare, Galway 2020, Clare Arts Office, Creative Ireland
    Producer
  • Burren College of Art studentsss
    Key Cast
  • Tom Flanagan
    Cinematographer
    Allegories of Power 2016, Post Fordlandia 2011
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 13 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Ireland
  • Country of Filming:
    Ireland
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Roma Film Festival
    Rome
    Italy
    February 18, 2021
    Official Selection
  • Cucalorus
    Wilmington, North Carolina
    United States
    November 12, 2021
    North American Premier
    Official Selection
  • Nobel International Film Festival
    Bangalore
    India
  • Toronto Multicultural Film Festival
    Toronto
    Canada
    September 28, 2021
    Canadian Premier
    Official Selection
  • New Wave Film Festival
    Munich
    Germany
    April 7, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Galway 2020
    Galway
    Ireland
    April 30, 2021
    Ireland Premier
    Commissioned Film
Director Biography - Aine Phillips

Áine Phillips is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Galway who works in video, live performance and installation. She has exhibited in Ireland and internationally since the late 80’s and has created work for multiple contexts; public art commissions, the street, club events, galleries and museums. She engages with ideas of power relations, social justice and eco philosophies in her work. Her short films have been screened at film festivals throughout Europe and the USA. She is Head of Sculpture at Burren College of Art and lectures on performance and Applied Theatre at MA level in the O'Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance at National University of Ireland, Galway.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Coming Full Circle is a collaboration with my students at Burren College of Art and with world renowned environmental sculptor Richard Long who makes art by walking in landscapes. He gave the film his blessing and contributed a spoken word voice over. Cinematographer Tom Flanagan pays hypnotic tribute to the vast cracked pavement of karst limestone bedrock and elemental seascape of Doolin Point at The Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. The performance was silent and compelling, we focused on a healing relationship with the environment using the restoration action as a metaphor and an act of meditation. Shot in the middle of the third wave of Covid restrictions in Ireland we were all like birds out of a cage, enjoying being outside together and making art in a collective spirit. The project was commissioned by Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture and supported by Clare Arts Office and Creative Ireland.