‘A primary function of art is to bridge our spiritual and physical worlds. Through crass materialism we have reduced art to cultural real estate. Actual creativity can neither be bought nor sold, though its husks, shells and skins often are."
In 1997 Alastair MacLennan represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale with intermedia work, commemorating the names of all those who had died as a result of the political trouble in Northern Ireland from 1969 to date.
During the 1970s and 1980s he made long durational performances in Britain and America of up to 144 hours each non-stop, usually neither eating nor sleeping throughout. The subject matter dealt with political, social and cultural malfunction.
Since 1975 he has been based in Belfast, at what is now called the University of Ulster, and for 11 years ran the postgraduate fine art programme. He was also a founder member of Belfast’s Art and Research Exchange.
He travels extensively in eastern and Western Europe, America and Canada, presenting actuations (his term for performance installations). He is a member of the European performance group called ‘Black Market International’.
