Nina Fern
Daughter of Danu
Daughter of Danu follows a river deity who is inhabiting a local lake. Her emotions towards her environment are transitioning between conflict and care, as the goddess is experiencing displacement and connection. The artwork is part one of a larger project that reimagines forgotten water deities that have once occupied Ireland’s rural areas. Goddesses that have been protecting water surface environments, who have been cherished by communities, and whose stories have been told, but now are lost.
Performer Aisling Ní Cheallaigh embodies the river deity and the accompanying sound introduces music that has been composed by sound designer Chris Somers.
The short film was shot on location at Lough Gill, Sligo, with a Canon DSLR and Ricoh Theta 360 camera.
Experimental short film, Digital HD, duration 1:01 minutes, colour, sound.
Location: Rossnowlagh Beach, the second Lifeguard Hut, Donegal
about Nina:
Nina Fern (she/her) is a visual artist residing on the wild northwest coast. Growing up to German-Turkish parents in Germany, she studied Fashion and specialised in Costume Design. Since moving to Ireland in 2012, Nina has tutored design and worked on Irish feature films. In 2022, she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the Atlantic Technological University, Sligo. Currently, Nina is undertaking practice-led research with focus on virtual performance and storytelling. Her multidisciplinary practice spans a variety of media, including extended reality (XR), moving image, and sculpture.
Nina is the recipient of the Ballinglen Arts Foundation annual Emerging Artist Award 2022, and was longlisted for the RDS Visual Art Awards 2022. Recently, Nina has been awarded with the Agility Award 2023 by the Arts Council. In 2023, the Hyde Bridge Gallery, Sligo, was exhibiting Otherworldly Echoes, a solo show with sculptural work and a screen-based VR experience. Forthcoming exhibitions include a solo show at Ballinglen Arts Foundation in 2025.
Links for Nina’s collaborators on this project:
Images: Stills from ‘Daughter of Danu’, Nina Fern, experimental short film, Digital HD, duration 1:01 minutes, colour, sound.