Templates of Chance at Rua Red: Visualising the addiction recovery process

Over the last 18 months Luxembourg artists Stéphanie Rollin and David Brognon have embedded themselves within the community of Tallaght as part of a residency and new commission for Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre.  The commission titled ‘Templates of Chance’ engages with the process of recovery from addiction and demonstrates how failure, pushing through and progression are an essential part of the process.

Overcoming addiction is a slow and personal process, involving all our strengths and vulnerabilities. Relapse is not a failure, but a necessary part of the long journey towards change.

During a series of conversations with the Drug & Alcohol Task Force in Tallaght, it became clear that people needed a physical symbol for this journey, to visualise and hold in their hand the path they’ve travelled. These tokens represent victorious moments: 10 years, five years, one year, six months, and perhaps most importantly, the first day—the day of decision and action (“Take the risk or lose the chance”).

Five tokens were designed, each stamped with symbolic figures and mantras collected from meetings with those on their journeys to recovery. The lighthouse, the anchor, the mirror… These tokens are now given in exchange for significant personal achievements in Tallaght’s communities.

In a video installation, these tokens are entrusted to Rua, a magician and Dubliner who excels in manipulation and deception. With his sleight of hand, he plays with our expectations; the time-charged metal vanishes at his will. When his hands are bound, gravity takes over. Appearing and disappearing from the world, becoming present or fading away.

Brognon Rollin
Luxembourg artists Stéphanie Rollin and David Brognon are described as ‘Explorers of the abyss’. Since 2006, the collaborative duo have been observing those who exist on the fringes of society. They create modest monuments to people who have fallen by the wayside where addiction and melancholy exist side by side. Their work does not shout; it quietly unfolds.

Brognon Rollin have been working with people who are on the journey of recovery, with support from addiction services in South Dublin County, specifically JAAD (Jobstown Assisting Drug Dependency) and Tallaght Drug and Alcohol Taskforce, and local community leaders Senator Lynn Ruane and Councillor Mick Duff.

The legacy and importance of what is left behind following a commission is central to Brognon Rollin’s practice. These tokens will be distributed into the centres of recovery and used throughout the county by the community that designed them.

www.ruared.ie