Spectres of Modernity is born out of the ongoing observation of the final moments of the Ballymun high–rise housing on the outskirts of Dublin. Balbutcher spine–block and Plunkett Tower are the last remains of this modernist, utopian solution to a severe housing crisis.
On the eve of demolition the pre–cast concrete shell enunciates a faint, dystopian echo of Le Corbusier’s Radiant City, and of the heroes of the 1916 Easter Rising after whom they were named. The first inhabitants moved into Ballymun Towers in 1967, the high–point of 1960s style.
The modular designs of Mary Quant and YSL’s Mondrian dress when juxtaposed with the brutalist ruins become ciphers of modernism. The project is underscored by the participation of the Ballymun community. Ruth McHugh’s collaborative and experimental lens–based project is concerned with architecture, place, truth and fiction in relation to the ephemeral nature of modernity.