RIVER / TUMADH
River/Tumadh is a research project based in the village of Freshford, Co. Kilkenny led by artist Annette Barnaville, in conjunction with a group of wild swimmers from Freshford and the surrounding areas. At the heart of the project lies our relationship with the natural world. Our world does not consist of separate things but of relationships that we co-author. We participate in our world. If we seek to dissolve boundaries between self and other, considering the world a sentient being, we can experience it as a community of life laden with meaning.
As an artist Annette is concerned with an empathic world. The complex ways in which we engage with each other and in how we place ourselves in the world are important to me. She is interested in feelings of joy, real joy that lifts us up, that lights our soul. This work seeks to explore the living presence of our world. By opening the landscape to different ways of interpretation we can adopt new ways of knowing, being and doing.
The idea for this project came about through the artists daily walks along the banks of Nuenna River. Many joyful memories are tied to River, stemming from childhood. In recent years her attention was drawn to wild swimmers and their immersive encounters. How do these earth bonding experiences affect us? Does the tonic of the wild uplift us? If River could speak, what might she say, and how might we be open to receiving a meaningful response?
Nuenna River flows through the heart of Freshford village. Its source is located at Tubbridbrittain, 5.52 km on the outskirts of the village. It begins life deep under the earth pushing upwards as a gravity spring, forming a small pool above the surface. It gathers pace and flows down towards the village of Freshford. It is one of the rivers in the Southeastern River basin district. It joins River Nore in Kilkenny, one of the Three Sisters Rivers. For almost 1500 years River, as it bends through the village, has been a gathering place. In 400AD the first settlers arrived at her banks from Munster. Five grain mills and a forge situated along the banks of Nuenna drew vital energy from her. It is a home to freshwater fish and a feeding ground for much wildlife. It is a place to pause and reflect, a place to be for villagers, swimmers, and visitors. Nuenna River has long been a popular spot for swimming in summer months. The wild swimmers began swimming at Mill Bridge, a point where River widens into a deep pool, during the Covid 19 pandemic and have continued weekly engagement throughout the seasons.
The aim of this research project was to explore the living presence of Nuenna River, highlighting its significance in the natural world and its impact on the surrounding environment. Through cycles of action and reflection it explored the relationship between participants and River. A secondary aim was to investigate the potential impact of forming connections with River and what effects these connections might have on our individual well-being, mental health, and personal growth.
