First shown at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in the Summer of 1999, ‘The Hottest Sun, The Darkest Hour’, is composed as a simultaneous and continuous five screen projection of five 16mm films. Each short film has its own title – ‘Marco, One Afternoon’, ‘Fireflies at 3am’, ‘Dani and Diego’, ‘Portrait of Daniela’, and ‘The Take-off’. The whole, and each of its elements, draws on Irvine’s experience living in Italy. The title alludes to that time of day when the heat and light reach an intensity which drives people indoors, to rest in the cool shade of
shuttered rooms where memories play and replay in the mind.
(1999, 10mins)