About
b. 1986, HK.
"My intention was not to deal with the problem of truth, but with the problem of the truth-teller, or of truth-telling as an activity... who is able to tell the truth, about what, with what consequences, and with what relations to power... with the question of the importance of telling the truth, knowing who is able to tell the truth and knowing why we should tell the truth, we have the roots of what we could call the 'critical' tradition in the west"
— Michel Foucault.
Case Studies
The Homeless Crisis & Abortion Laws in Ireland
The Homeless Crisis in Ireland
A silent scene as men try to lift homeless man found
dead in a doorway near government building.
In 2014, the number of people sleeping rough in Dublin City had doubled within a few months. The result was 170 people sleeping on the cold, dark pavements of the city streets. A significant event occurred during this time that brought these rising issues to light. Reporting this event is Kate Holmquist, a reporter from the national newspaper The Irish Times.
Holmquist writes about her experience as she witnesses the removal of a dead body from a doorway in Dublin City. What makes this event so significant? The doorway that stands in the shadows of the House of Parliament, and the dead body was that of a homeless man. Witnessed was a scene of such irony; the poor people of Ireland dying on the front steps of the Constitution that is supposed to keep its people safe.
The research and development carried out throughout this project showcases an attempt to bring this event back to life. The one-year anniversary of Jonathon Corrie's death marked more than the tragic event itself for the people of Dublin. On 1st December 2015, many people gathered at the same doorway where Jonathon died to demonstrate the homeless crisis. Despite claims of an economic growth, homelessness is now at an all time high. This date is a reminder of how little progress has been made since the death of Jonathon Corrie. To signify this 'A Silent Scene' is a site specific exhibition, located on the same doorstep where Jonathon took his last breath. What has the government done, or fail to do, that has led to homeless people dying on the city streets of Dublin? To form any conclusion, research has been made into specific areas relating to the homeless crisis.
The housing flats in Ballymun, four miles north of Dublin City Centre, are the most flagrant example of Irish social planning gone awry. The government's plan was to clear out inner city Dublin's tawdry slums, but it provided Ballymun with no infrastructure. Drug abuse has festered in Ballymun almost as long as its towers have stood. Photographer Ross McDonnell has captured the desperation of Dublin's underclass in his Joyrider series.
In October 2010, according to official estimates, there were 2846 ghost estates and more than 350,000 vacant homes throughout Ireland. Bitter memories left by the spectral and temporary nature of the property boom in Ireland, ghost estates are the symbol of the property market's collapse, a topology of the economic disintegration of the country. Despite the economic rise at more than 7 per cent since 2015, these derelict buildings and houses remain unacquainted.
Between the tower blocks of Ballymun and the vacant houses in ghost estates, lies the environment where homeless people live. Investigation was made into the physical presentation of typography on the streets of Dublin. Manhole covers are typographical street furniture that homeless people often find themselves sleeping on. The typography on the ground was compared to the typography placed on the side of government buildings. The steel manhole covers placed beside a gold engraved plaque exhibits the bitter truth of the divide in Ireland between poverty and power.
Manhole covers were re-designed and re-created with care and sensitivity for the life of Jonathon Corrie. Placed directly on the doorstep where Jonathon took his last breath, the manhole covers evolve into symbolic objects. The exhibition espouses the emergence of a specialist design genre that caters for deeper, more profound and poetic needs, taking the onlooker beyond the gallery space towards a rich, interactive domain of emotion and experience. This is enabled by the presence not simply of meaning but of layers of meaning.
Abortion Laws in Ireland
Indian woman denied termination dies in Irish hospital.
Savita Halappanavar, a young Indian woman, died in an Irish hospital on 28th October 2012. Savita had presented at the hospital with her husband Praveen on 21st October 2012 with severe back pain. She was 17 weeks pregnant and was found to be miscarrying. Her request for a termination was refused because the foetal heartbeat was still present. Savita went into septic shock after spontaneously delivering a female foetus three days after she was admitted. She died in intensive care at 1.09 am on October 28th.
The healthcare record documentation of Savita Halappanavar's case lacked detail in relation to her clinical status and the potential risk of clinical deterioration at identified times throughout her care pathway. In summary of the care provided, there was a general lack of provision of basic, fundamental care, for example, not following up on blood tests, failure to recognize Savita was at risk of clinical deterioration and failure to act or escalate concerns to an appropriately qualified clinician when Savita was showing the signs of clinical deterioration.
The IMEWS chart (Irish Maternity Early Warning System) was introduced after Savita's tragic death. This chart exhibits cohesive design, information architecture and data visualization designed by medical professionals across all fields in order to create a platform that would help detect early signs of clinical deterioration of pregnant women. This chart played a crucial part in my attempt to create a delivery platform that expresses information in an emotionally engaging way.
The timeline between Savita's initial diagnosis of impending pregnancy loss and her time of death is the string that bears truth in this tragic event. The Health Information and Quality Authority published a report into the incident. Access to this data leaves us better equipped to scrutinize information that expresses both truth and history. Taking the data from Savita's healthcare record in University Hospital Galway and findings from the HIQA report, this project aims to replace moral posturing with an honest assessment of information.
