Sarah McCarroll
Sara McCarroll is an Irish-born visual artist based in Dublin. Sara works primarily through the mediums of photography and video. She graduated from the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design + Technology with a first-class honours degree in photography in 2020. Her graduate work is concerned with issues of gender and the treatment received by the victims and survivors of Ireland's mother and baby institutions. Sara continues to work closely with those affected in order to document the scope of this national tragedy. Her interest in this subject is currently ongoing and will inform future works. Her work Era of The Witch has been recently exhibited in Photo Museum Ireland in Dublin as part of a group collection titled Protest! Photography, Activism and Social Change in Ireland running from April 21st - June 11th 2022.
Project Title: Era of the Witch
The figure of the witch in both historical and contemporary forms is a signifier of persistent systems of violence against women. To be outed as a witch is to be othered as a dangerous threat to normative society. They are viewed as an extreme symbol of defiance to what is considered conventional, traditional, and safe. Today, many defiant persons may find themselves turned into witches and thus deemed to be acceptable targets of social violence. Utilising the confrontational medium of photo collage, Era of the Witch is a constructed critique of modern society.
Education not Deportation: Fleeing the war in Syria Alan Kurdi, born Alan Shenu was a three-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish ethnic background who drowned on September 2nd 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea.
Women's Rights are Human Rights: “Even if you become the ultimate alpha male, some stupid bitch will still ruin your life.” words spoken by Andrew Anglin an American white supremacist.
Witches for Reproductive Freedom: The women imprisoned in Ireland's mother and baby institutions paraded down the streets as a form of shame and punishment.
“Top shaggers.” Transcripts from Paddy Jackson, Stuart Olding, lane McIlroy and Rory Harrison's group chat. All four men were accused of rape.
Trans Women are Women: 375 transgender people were killed in 2021, a figure that has risen since 2020’s international total of 350.
Witch Hunt: The Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches) states the existence of “witch midwives” and their intent to offer newborns to the Devil. One of the many fictional claims designed to insight further violence against women from the 15th century onwards.
Witches you could not Burn: The total number of executions for witchcraft is estimated to be 60,000. This is a conservative figure based only on deaths reported.
The Mark of the Witch: It is said that any distinguishing physical feature on a woman such as scars, birthmarks and worts were identification marks placed upon them by the Devil. This would then suffice as evidence for the accusation of witchcraft in the 17th century.
Good night Alt-right: In August 2017 members of the far-right marched with lit torches in Charlottesville, Virginia in defence of confederate general Robert E. Lee’s statue. One of the members drove his car into a multiracial crowd, killing one and seriously injuring 19 others.