In the Wake (detail 1)

Carbury Water Gardens, Camac River, Co. Dublin (1996)

In the Wake references the wooden hospital (built in 1847 at the height of the Irish famine emigrations). The old structure, not yet refurbished when In the Wake was constructed, is the only structure still standing on Grosse Ile from the early days of the quarentine centre. The floating installation suggests a sort of ghost ship, a metaphorical return that is referenced in folklore related to ships and people lost at sea. The floating white crosses reference those on the thousands of unmarked graves on Grosse Ile that were hastily dug in the crisis of 1847.