Inside Sinéad O’Dwyer’s World of Controlled Desire In Her New Film Ná Teagmhaigh / Do Not Touch

Sinéad O’Dwyer has a particular penchant for expertly blending mediums that combine and become worlds you could step into. The fashion designer has released a new film capturing her world of performance. Though despite the access these worlds present, there’s still an inherent timidness to touch. Cheeks flush pink as the designer exposes you to notions of want that you’ve already seen. And yet — the format presents as if entirely brand new, equal parts nerve-racking and intoxicating. 

Photo: Sinead O'Dwyer

The film Ná Teagmhaigh / Do Not Touch is yet another example of the tactile impact that results from her ability to craft new conversations around already known realities. Sensuality, the feminine form, caged in by external lust and voyerism -- the viewer becomes part of the conversation whether they want to or not. The movement of the models-turned-actors speaks truth to an inherent explicitness that is never fully actualized. Undulating layers of nondescript sexuality are imbued throughout the movements and expressions of each performer. The result is a partially formed story that is representative of a wider world of O'Dwyer's imagination that we never quite get to see.

The film itself is built from a performance that originally filled the brutalist spaces at the Barbican, re-committed to its own story and formatted in a new context for an entirely different viewership. O’Dwyers garments have always had this special ability to speak for themselves, dedicated layering, attention to detail, gaping silhouettes. Refined yet playful as functional forms cloak each of the models adding to their purpose and storytelling ability.

Photo: Sinead O'Dwyer

A light touch, yet commanding feminine energy is juxtaposed against cracking pointe shoes. These energies are paired with physical moments on screen to emulate cracked bones. Showcasing a through line of simultaneous softness and brutalization of those very same forms. We exist to be defined, exhausted, contained, and freed once more — a repeated, inescapable cycle. All laid out in her latest film. Like anything else she creates, it is jaw-dropping, eye-opening, and leaves the viewer begging for more.

Watch the new film live on Nowness.