safe cracker - 2001
This gallery event/performance was commissioned as part of the White Diamond Projects programme in 2001.
Organised by Declan Sheehan at the Context Gallery in Derry the background to the performance was a discussion about Irish Republican Army tactics during the troubles. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s the IRA would fund their activities by robbing banks and post offices in Southern Ireland and physically carry the stolen safes from these raids to a hill above Derry. Once safely hidden in woods at the top of the hill they would then proceed to break the safe using heavy tools.
For the project Declan challenged local artist Mark Hill to break into the Contact gallery on a pre agreed evening and crack a heavy duty safe placed in the gallery space within a three hour period.
Having agreed to the challenge Mark entered the gallery by sawing a hole through the main gallery wall. He then proceeded to assemble six small steel girders and a pneumatic car jack (all carried by hand into the space) in order to create an heavy duty jig with which he literally crushed the safe.
The whole procedure took around 2 hours (very impressive) and Mark recovered a small technical book about safe breaking which had been placed inside the crushed strong box earlier in the evening.
The film below was shot during the event and was included with a selection of videos about safe breaking alongside the cracked safe during the proceeding exhibition.
2001 / art / curated / gallery / padraig timoney / white diamond /
