The Making Of: Memories Made Manifest was a five week residency and resulting exhibition by Fiona Hallinan in July 2009 at the Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray. The residency's research period consisted of an open and evolving studio in the gallery where the artist worked from every day. The project was commissioned to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Ardmore Studios in Bray, a film studio just outside the town. Hallinan responded to the residency brief by inviting members of the public who had in some way been involved in or touched by the film studio to call into the gallery for the chance to share their unique narrative. The response to the project was great, with hugely diverse perspectives on the film studio emerging. Many participants lent documents, which the artist used to create a digital archive and temporary exhibition.
The artist recorded the conversations that took place between her and the participants, building an archive of these digital audio recordings too. The stories that emerged were, as can be imagined, fascinating insights into the past fifty years, broadening out into general histories but always returning to the legacy of the film studios.
Installation shot by Leah Reynolds. The end result of the project came in different forms. There were workshops throughout, from teaching how to make pin wheels from the old Bray seafront to impromptu discussions and guided tours of the props and documents contributed to the exhibition. There were two events to thank all the people involved, both with words said and wine drank and the second one with music from friends of the artist, Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh, Odessa and The Wheel Wright and Rory Grubb. An audio walking tour composed by Hallinan and her collaborator, sound artist Alex Synge, used original text and recordings from the participants with accompanying music by Cian Nugent to create a site-specific guided tour of Bray. The tour, in mp3 format with a player and headphones provided, is available permanently from the Mermaid Arts Centre, with an accompanying fold-out map and information on the project. It is also available to download from the Mermaid Arts Centre website.