AGREEMENT

AGREEMENT marked 25 years since the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

A unique artwork by Amanda Dunsmore, commissioned by Ulster Presents at Ulster University and made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the anniversary. Showing 14 silent video portraits of people involved in negotiating the Agreement, it is presented as a series – portraits alternating in relationship to each other, on three large screens.

AGREEMENT journeyed across Northern Ireland, hosted by communities in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Rathfriland, Omagh and Glengormley. The artwork invited people into conversation, about what ‘agreement’ means to them. To facilitate this we created visual and physical structure that reflected the concept of an imperfect but pragmatic compromise. Security force colours bleed into new tones of identity, lines are both distinct and shifting. The word mark is fractured but held together in adaptive ways. 

The exhibition totems, which lean into each other to be held up, are reminiscent of the voting booths that delivered the historic decision. Reflections are captured anonymously on postcards and displayed, or collected in ballot boxes, for consideration. This visual dialogue was collated in boxes of cards and presented to each of the participating communities as a record of the project.