Artist Aoife Desmond reveals a glimpse of the hidden wildlife that lives in tandem with one of Belfast’s liveliest galleries.

This single roll of Super 8 invites you to experience an unconventional garden as artist Aoife Desmond directs your gaze to the fleeting movements of urban birds amongst the rooftops. Catch glimpses the city’s changing skyline as a seagull circles to protect its nest. This handheld film is shot from the rear windows, balcony and rooftop of a dilapidated building which at the time was shared by two of the city’s major artist collectives Catalyst Arts and Queen Street Studios. 


 

This short film edited in camera by Aoife Desmond was made for "Walled Garden' her multi-layered site-specific work within the exhibition 'The Garden Show' at the Catalyst Arts gallery. Catalyst Arts was formed by artists in 1993 in response to what was seen as a cultural vacuum in the city. It continues to be Belfast’s primary artist-led organisation run by a relay of dedicated volunteers. Catalyst Arts is always a gallery, but has also been a 24 hour cinema, a recording studio, a publishing house, a skip, a radio station, a jumble sale, a wrestling ring, a sauna, a distillery, an agnostic chapel, a banquet hall, a darts team, a leisure centre, a night club and a shop.  

 Digitised as part of Unlocking Film Heritage.

• Britain on Film
• BFI Player
• Something Momentous Germinating - Galway Arts Centre