MORTAR | DEVICE

HD video: 2min
Dan Shipsides 2011

MORTAR | DEVICE from Dan Shipsides on Vimeo.

Over 70 six pointed stars photographed on Loyalist murals and other vernacular Unionist forms in Belfast - edited to remove the red hand and then animated.

Mortar: Weapon used in trench warface. Cement used in brickwork
Device: Constructed functional thing. A designed (visual, text or audio) form.

Whilst not so noticed the six pointed star appears often amongst the visual iconography of Northern Ireland, especially associated, somewhat mysteriously, with many loyalist paramilitary and heritage groups (the UFF - Ulster Freedom Fighters , UDA - Ulster Defense Association and the RHC - Red Hand Commando a small group linked to the UVF - Ulster Volunteer Force). It also appears on the Ulster Banner – the state flag for Northern Ireland from 1952 to 1973 (presently there is no official national flag for Northern Ireland). The military style iconography cements the notion of contemporary violence being persecuted under a 'war footing' mentality - which is rooted in the significance of the First World War to Loyalism's claim to Britishness and also to the currency of the warrior/defence status. The Star of David is also an obvious link to the grand narratives of religion originating from the Holy Lands, to which some fundamental religious belief in Northern Ireland is wedded.  Nonetheless, the star’s usage and significance in Northern Ireland is opaque.  As an emblem of certain forms and means of power it carries positive and negative associations depending omn context and the perspective of the viewer, but it sits, like many icons and symbols, without transparent commentary.