‘The Fews’ by QSS artist Éanna Mac Cana
‘The Fews’ is an experimental short film by QSS artist Éanna Mac Cana. The piece focuses on painter (and the artist’s father), Paddy McCann, who is in the midst of creating a new body of work.
Owing to the spectrum of colour his father uses in his painted works, Éanna chose to record in black and white to decrease association of mere reproduction. Instead, he focused on his process. The opening frames of ‘The Fews’ belong to recordings from a thermal camera, which highlights the kinetic act and energy of painting. This approach loosens the film from conventional documentary aesthetics, whilst resonating with the notion of surveillance.
‘The Fews’ is a forest area in south County Armagh, a place synonymous with the Northern Ireland conflict. It lies close to where Paddy McCann is from, and where his studio is now based.
Film Festival Selections:
London Experimental, 2020
Moving Image Arts International Short Film Festival, Toronto, 2020
