It is hard to tell what the fish make of Mikel Murfi’s intrusion into their deep tank at the Salthill aquarium. Surrounded by rocks, he arranges himself in a sun chair on a small, raft-like deck. Breathing through a long curved tube, an oxygen tank tucked beneath his white shirt, he seems utterly self-sufficient, like a shipwreck survivor, lost in his thoughts.
It is a startling opening to a 45-minute piece that would be called performance art in a gallery. On a bank of seats facing the three-metre-high glass tank, the small audience surveys the specimen in front of them. A dizzyingly inventive physical performer and director, Murfi often collaborates with other theatre, dance and opera artists. Here his director is Kellie Hughes, with designers Sabine Dargent (set) and Sinéad Wallace (lighting). While it seems to flow dreamily, this arresting new work they have created with Loco & Reckless Productions and Galway international arts festival relies on pinpoint precision and skill.
