Irish Lament

Throughout my narrative, I had failed to mention a crucial component that certainly played a role in provoking my emotions as I navigated through the landscape: the hushed songs of lament that filled the air. These somber songs projected from speakers when I first entered into the tunnel of illuminated information. They filled the cottage with a tinge of despair. The voices hummed and traveled up the path with me. At the time, I may not have been conscious of the effect this music had on my spirits and my personal reflection. However, looking back, I am able to recognize the deep effect it had on my thought process.

Music, in general, has the power to transform one’s mood and mentality. Irish laments were songs of hunger, cry, and despair. And, although the thoughts that flooded my head from the scenery alone prohibited me from analyzing each lyric, combined with the language barrier of the songs, I felt the pain of these songs through melody and tone. These were cries to God. My sympathies grew which each note as I walked their land, heard their songs, and tried to picture the individual lives of those effected by the famine, just as I was individually experiencing this aftermath for myself.

The Irish Hunger Memorial application included a SoundCloud playlist of these specific songs that played throughout the memorial. I listened to these tracks when I arrived back home. The setting in which I heard these songs changed their meaning, for I was not as reflective or emotional when I listened to these laments in my living room. When I walked through the memorial, I was immersed in an environment of deliberate tactics—music being just one of these elements. I found myself becoming easily lost within the sights and sounds of the Irish Hunger Memorial. However, I kept an analytical tendency to take a step back and remind myself music is, in fact, an element with a specific purpose on the designer’s part, in order to stimulate an emotional response to increase remembrance and awareness.