QUALIA DUBLIN

Qualia

DubliN

ART & CULTURE MAGAZINE

ISSUE NO.1 SPACE/S

Qualia Dublin

Qualia Dublin are an artist collective based and working in Dublin City. With 9 core members, the collective looks to engage with thepublic and create an awareness of contemporary art practice andculture within the parameters, and beyond, of our dirty aul town. The objective of Qualia Dublin is to create a stronger sense ofcommunity between all disciplines, a place for the artistic individuals to free their minds, and to allow their voices to be heard on issues that concern them and explore their potential in creative practices they’ve never attempted to work in. We want to encourage experimentation, risktaking, and engage with the public to allow some-thing exciting to take off and flourish in the beautiful jaysus’in Dublin spirit thats still very much alive. To create an awareness of the fantastic innovative energy that winds through each cobbled lane and around every street corner of the city is the prime objective of Qualia.

The theme of this first issue, SPACE/s was ultimately chosen as a starting point for the magazine but also as it co-insides with Qualia’s first exhibition in Pallas Projects/Studios.The issue looks asvarious spaces around Dublin City, the constant merging between the physical space and the virtual space that we, as artists, but also as city folk face everyday. We also feature artists who submit and catch our eye with work that examines the contemporary ideas surrounding space.

So without anymore blabbling on, we give you Qualia Dublin’s weird and wonderful Issue no.1, SPACE/s.

Until next time!

Contents

Laura Skehan Granegorman squats; hidden creative communities P.3-4 PAUL ROSSER, Mediated Space: Under the Science Fiction Microscope P.5-8 interview with aisling bruen: The Virtual age of photography P.9-10 featured artist: karen walsh, Space within space P.11-12 fiona darragh & sarah O’keeffe: Grangegorman hidden histories p.13-14 featured artist:ronan o’reilly P.15-16 submissions: Our pop up gallery space P.17-18 pull out poster: IADT student elinor sherwood’s 8. ft representation of the himalaya’s. P.19-20 shane butler: Digital age worthy P. 21-22 NCAD protests: possible knock on effects on other art institutions P.23-24 Qualia dublin’s first show Space/s P.25-26

Grangegorman squats

reconstituted creative hubs housing hidden communities laura skehan

The wonderful thing about the Grangegorman squats are the people inside. They are the warmest bunch of people. It’s terribly unfortunate that they’ve been troubled with eviction notices, and even worse that it’s resorted to a resistance that resulted with some aggressive behaviour.Here at Qualia Dublin, we went down to take a look at the site and it’s quite exceptional. The squatters have completely renewed what was once a dark, grim, desolate place into a colour-ful, artistic hub of energy and enthusiasm. Although yes, not many people’s first choice of living, and of course, there will be many closed minded folk that will argue with dodging rent and all that hulaboola, but think about it. In a city where every bit of space is being bought and sold, where rent is being increased by landlords regularly, where studio space and creative hubs are being shut down because those in them can’t afford the lease anymore, we’re loosing sense of community & deperately clawing at the last bit of artistic expression and freedom that is left. Homelessness is ridiculously high. Everything is marketed. We’re obsessed with investment. with earning with spending, with owning. Everything is surrounded by captialist views and money making schemes. Maybe it’s an Irish thing, given our history with owning land and taking back what is essentially ours, but really it’s getting proposturous. Dublin, although being a creative city, is falling to it’s knees when it comes to obtaining the alternative creative spaces... Why aren’t we encouraging these kind of spaces to be set up? The hidden events, the secret underground poetry readings, the odd but inadvertively beautiful art-shows, the community markets, young artistic adults talking and spreading of ideas within these spaces are the only thing we have left that realistically isn’t bought up and sold with the rest of the city. These ideas are abundant in European cities like Berlin and Amsterdam. Squatters are encour-aged to take over abandoned sites and make use of them in a safe and secure manner. You cannot argue about the positive influence these people have had on the site, and on the community. With a garden, music and spoken word nights called words in the warehouse, and a space for artwork the vast beauty of the multiple uses of this space is only really beginning. photography: Aisling Bruen

Mediated Space: Under the Science Fiction Microscope “Brazil” Spoiler warning!

- Paul Rosser

One of the most defining events of the 21st century, September 11 and its aftermath provided fresh inspiration for the media. The resulting political climate shifted the boundaries governing issues of privacy, surveillance and security. It is well known that after September 11 actions such as interrogation involving tor-ture, increased surveillance and detention of terror suspects with neither viable charges nor trial became more commonplace. National security, immigration and population control have become the important topics of the governments in both developed and developing countries.

Although not all governments appear to be openly totalitarian, there is a form of subtle totalitarianism, where political ideologies have infiltrated all aspects of our lives and guide our actions. The protection of lives of both individuals and populations while eliminating threats by political powers and the growing scientific obsessions with altering the human body as demonstrated by science fiction film the expanding biotechnology and biomedical sectors highlight the prevalence of bio politics in contemporary society.

The presence of bio politics creates such that even when a human eye is not monitoring the population the omnipresence of bio politics characterizes the individual by personal data and profiles rather than treating them subjectively. The state is no longer the main agent of control as groups monitor and participate in their own self discipline through regulatory mechanisms such as form filling as is seen in the film Brazil, making individuals responsible for their own actions. There are two ways in which film can approach ideas around surveillance and bio-politic the first is how it reflects the world and what parallels we can see with philosophical argument . The second questions whether films themselves can function as forms of philosophical questioning and whether they contribute to existing philosophical arguments.

Science fiction films such as Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” represent and contemplate on the ways in which human biological bodies are managed by political powers on issues of security, terrorism as also explored

by Michel Foucault, examples of the bio-legislation of politics and draw parallels with certain concepts.

“It functions at the level of generality with the aim to identify risk groups, risk factors and risk levels and therefore anticipate prevent contain and manage potential risk all though actuarial analysis and cybernetics of control.

The film depicts dystopian worlds where the biological bodies of human beings exist at the mercy of authorities in power; and science and technology can be used by these authorities to take any action against the biological bodies of populations. The political rhetoric of security and preservation of populations I used to justify these actions, regardless of how brutal they are at times.

The film is concerned with the political rhetoric of the war against terror and the ways in which authorities in power utilize this rhetoric of protecting populations to become totalitarian regimes. Present day ideas of security, both from terrorism are our reality. The political rhetoric of national security has created the impression that the public is constantly surrounded by fear and anxiety, enabling this rhetoric.

In the face of such dangers, people are made to entrust their everyday life solely to their governments. They are made to believe that the state will take care of their safety, happiness and health, as long as they follow the guidelines and obey the law. We are also encouraged to be observant of our fellow citizens and report any signs of suspicious activities. This comes in the form of the repair men Sam encounters when his heating ducts break and they discover they have been tampered with they take it upon themselves to deliver justice by destroying his house.

The main character Sam Lowry escape is into his fantasies - into glorious dreams of flying high above all the petty cares of the world where he can escape the bio political system of his work (Figure 1). As the film continues his idyllic dreams become enveloped by the control of bio politics encasing the female love interest of his dreams in a cage (Figure 2) and he starts to challenge the role of bio politics as a way of controlling those on mass.

Sam becomes excluded through mechanisms of branding and dichotomisation of those within the central structure of power. This is not meant to endorse the facile idea that all sides in a conflict are the same, only to point out that wildly divergent ideas can be embraced, somewhat paradoxically, by people who hail from similar environments and perceive certain things in very similar ways.

Terrorism is a cultural phenomenon as well as a political one. A society’s perception of terrorism as an acceptable form of political expression — or, by contrast, its complete rejection of terrorism — is tied to perhaps the most fundamental concept in any culture, the value of human life.

Nowadays, the technology exists to replace organs, change our physical appearances, and alter our genders and to enhance our bodies by various means. This has given rise to the idea that our bodies can be transformed or optimized and moreover, it is now regarded as the citizens’ right to do so.

As a result, immense hope has been invested in procedures such as in vitro fertilization, cosmetic surgery, organ transplants and gender reassignment operations. Thus, human biological life has become a part of the political economy, giving rise to the bio economy. In order to capitalize on the bio economy, many governments have made investments (in terms of fostering research, building laboratories and increasing the workforce) to expand this sector. In the film, Sam’s mother and her friends are obsessed with the newest and latest anti aging treatments. She subjects herself to excruciatingly painful procedures of skin stressing at the hands of the experimental doctor Chapman (Figure 3) who seems to treat his patience like guinea pigs as cosmetic surgery is still in the early stages of development within this society. Science fiction films are either set in outer space or in the future, they mirror the contemporary issues plaguing the world.

The term bio power was introduced in Foucault’s book titled The History of Sexuality (Volume 1), published in 1976. Bio power describes the ways in which human beings exist in society and politics not only as citizens but also as biological entities which are of value to political power. This process of connecting the political with the biological occurs both at the level of the individual and that of populations. The form of bio power which is applied individually is the “anatomicpolitics of the human body.�

For example, state racism is a form of bio power. Foucault writes that racism is not merely a political issue, but it is also a biological one; and this biological understanding of racism is manipulated by political rhetoric in order to control populations. Racism divides the population and creates caesuras i.e. the biological bodies of the population are divided into supposed superior and supposed inferior races; the latter being regarded as less than human entities.

State racism is based on the idea that the death (or destruction) of the inferior race will make life of the superior one healthier and purer. As such, killing or extermination of the inferior race becomes more acceptable as it is only carried out to preserve the rest of the population. Thus, a bio- political state believes that conflict is necessary in order to protect the biological life of a certain group of people. Bio-power also relies on the security apparatus to discipline and regulate populations.

The internalised nature of the bio political structure of Brazil as this mundane process of administration and bureaucracy functions by means of including those who are already part of the system by means of promotions and excluding those who find the process of form filling and monitoring an unnecessary means of functioning within society. The character Tuddle a free lance heating duct specialist, who left the main organisation of central services because as he put it you “can’t make a move without a form “. The divide between the two characters of Sam and Tuddle asserts the fragmentation within the biological continuum and caesuras within species bodies so that bio political sorting could take place by those deem superior and those perceived inferior such as the working classes.

The discipline, regulation and economic exploitation of biological bodies of both individuals and populations by political powers as such are also the main concerns of the philosophy of bio politics. In some respects, the genre that seems the most distant from the contemporary world is one of the most free to execute accurate descriptions of its operations. Fantasies of the future may simply be ways of putting quotation marks around the present. These films show extreme conditions at play, often underpinned by ethical concerns influenced by the social and political landscape of any society at any given time.

In conclusion bio politics is becoming more part of our everyday lives through the use of CCTV, key cards and other modern technologies as a way of controlling the body through a process of self governance by creating the perception of the ever watching eye monitoring every aspect of our life.

I believe the analysis of popular science fiction films using the philosophy of bio politics is provides an insight as to how popular culture attempts to understand the current political and economic relation to the human biological body. They show dystopian futures of contemporary bio political practices but are unable to suggest alternatives but highlight and reframe the issues through mass media entertainment. Michel Foucault, believes that bio politics has pervasive in society and questions whether it is at all possible to resist this become too form of power an suggests if perhaps we should promote new forms of subjectivity.

The age of instagram what makes virtual space and physical space merge?

Laura Skehan caught up with Aisling Bruen to chat about her eye catching Instagram photography of the line, tone and depth of the cityscape and it’s hidden beauty. Her photos gives us an ulterior perspective of the hidden rhythms of the urban space which we sometimes disregard.

L) You often take photos of architecture or urban space around the city....

Is that a concious decision?

A) It’s not a conscious decision at all, none of the photos I take are. I never plan to go and take a photograph, it’s more just spotted in the moment. Usually something catches my eye and I have to stop what I’m doing. For example; the pictures taken in Grangegorman happened solely because I was driving by. The nosy and impulsive part of me had to stop and have a goo. I left my car double parked on the side of the road to go in and have a look, asking another observer to shout in if the clampers came!

L) You’ve certainly got a great eye. So when looking at a space what would catch your eye in terms of aesthetics? Composition? Line? Positive/negative space? Colour?

A) I’m starting to see patterns in the photographs I take; they’re quite structured. I like shooting lines for sure. Structured architecture sends shivers down my spine; the Samuel Beckett Bridge is possibly one of my favorites to shoot. Anyone else who gets excited by this bridge should check out The Bridge of Strings in Jerusalem, it’s by the same guy - amazing! I like photographs to be less busy, whereby there is usually one focal point. I aim too for whatever I’m shooting to be wellbalanced and nicely centered; which is definitely not a metaphor for my life!

L) Some of your photographs would give a different reading printed out than they would online.

Would you be interested in analogue photography? Or is it important to use social media or apps such as instagram - a digital space, to take photographs of a physical space?

A) My room mate is actually setting up a dark room in the house, so hopefully she’ll teach me a thing or two about analogue. I still have yet to print any photographs so I guess it is important to be able to showcase them on the likes of Facebook etc. If it weren’t for sites like these there would be no recognition for people like me who don’t have mad money to spend on materials. My photos are never planned therefore I don’t think analogue would be a convenient medium for me personally.

L) Would you like to take your photos out of the digital space and into a gallery space?

A) I would love love love to take this further and exhibit but I think of exhibitions under a professional umbrella, and I’m far from that. Sure most of my pictures would have been taken using a standard phone camera; some people wouldn’t even call that photography! My aim for the foreseeable future would be to buy a decent camera and see where to go from there.

L) We’re starting to see a surge of the use of filter with photography, especially online...Do you think using a filter only enhances a space digitally, or does is entice us to look at these physical spaces in a different way?

A)I think it does both. Filters are controversial; some disregard them completely, but for the moment, I like them. They allow everyone easy access to an array of formats without having different lenses or a collection of expensive cameras. I do think filters provide you with a more diverse photograph. Each time a photograph is altered, the audience gets a different response. With analogue you miss this opportunity, you have just a singular photographic effect. I think that is a lovely thing, to create a multitude of photographs from one image.

Watch this space, lads and lassies!

Featured Artist:

KAREN WALSH, The space within a space Walsh has an interest in abandonment, in particular the abandonment of domestic, lived-in spaces. Through the mediums of paint and photography she looks to portray homes that have become frozen, that have been left to rot and deteriorate through time. The idea of fragments left behind of something that once has led her to develop a desire to find forgotten structures within the Irish landscape. Such structures that stand motionless from the point of desertion, whether that be from death, emigration or other unknown circumstances. Wishing to highlight the beauty that can be seen within that of the rot and decay of abandoned spaces that are in the process of being reclaimed by nature, she emphasise the lack of human presence through the stillness of her compositions. A stillness that reflects on a loss of human life, yet still provides a sense of human interaction that once existed within the space.

Grangegorman: what remains fiona darragh & sarah o’keeffe discover the hidden memory of grangegorman & the forgotten histories of the space.

Fiona darragh

Michael Doyle – former nurse of St. Brendans Hospital, Grangegorman.

Interview was conducted on Tuesday 23rd of September 2014 and lasted for just over 47 minutes.

Michael first started working as a nurse in St. Brendan’s hospital in the early 1960’s and he retired in 1988. He worked mainly with those suffering from alcoholism and the homeless. Michael was the founder of the Industrial Therapy section of the hospital which involved basket weaving and other activites which included hand made crafts.

During the interview I asked Michael to describe the building he worked in for the majority of his time in St. Brendans. This building was St. Dymphna or today is known as the North House Annex.

The image is a still from a video I in which I interpreted the layout of the building based on this description.

North House Annex formerly known as St. Dymphna’s.

“I would drive in the gate and the building was right there in front of you, the gate was just off the North Circular road. I would park my car about 20 yards in to the right, just in front of the building.

The door to the building was in the middle of the length of the building. I walked into a hall. The doors were locked, I walked in then through a locked door into an outer hall where you had chairs, sofas, you know, a lounge... sort of things like that. On the left hand side was the female area. Directly in front of you was the four bedded unit. Here you had alcoholics that came in that were actually in the DT, that needed constant nursing. On the right hand side was the male ward. There were only about 20 patients between both male and female altogether. To the right of the male area was a wee corridor about 5 yards long and off that you had toilets for male and female staff and then just a little bit further on was the treatment room where we had all the drugs and things like that. When you come in from the hallway directly on the right hand side was the office, and the office was a joint office for both male and female. There was no upstairs in it, well we didn’t use it anyway. The second story was used for John Dunne’s private residents.”

sarah o’keeffe Beneath DIT

I find most surprises are mistakenly found in the beginning. Our new campus gives us the opportunity to explore the history of this controversial space. This was the case of the exquisite mosaic flooring I found in the downstairs project room of the North House Annex in DIT’s new grounds, Grangegorman. The story of the accidental glorious discovery is an odd one. I had the space booked for a week to construct an installation I was working on. The room is basically a cube of boredom, very office like with hues of grey and cream. Velcro strips stuck my base down.

In my rush to dismantle my piece I ripped the base up, pulling with it a square piece of grey carpet. Underneath were the tiny pieces of ceramic, inset into concrete flooring. My intrigue got the better of me and so I began to peel the layers of carpet back, revealing more and more of the beautiful handmade artwork. Although I don’t condone ripping up flooring, I would recommend seeing this in person.

FEatured ARTIST:

RONAN o’REILLY My work is primarily concerned with the dialogue between the conscious and the unconscious mind. I make paintings and drawings that explore the personal and collective unconscious, using symbols and imagery from a broad range of sources including mysticism, spiritual practices, ancient cultures and my own dreams.

The artworks serve to create a liminal space that contains real and imaginary, past and present.

They seek our base fantasies and drives, dealing with subject matter such as the uncanny, mythology, archetypes and the natural world.

The figures in my pictures occupy a space which is in-between worlds, a space which is neither present nor past. My work creates a space in which the endless meaning of different historical symbols may be explored, and sacred teachings from different cultures which have been lost may attain new value.

Catch Ronan’s work at the DIT Graduate Show this May.

submissions visual artists, photographers, film makers, animators, cartoonists, musicians, graphic designers, writers & any other sort of creatives to get involved We are constantly looking for

in our magazine. each issue we will feature a double spread for our favourite submissions... but don’t fret! will also have a pop up space for other submissions which have caught our eye so send ‘em in. Our next issue’s theme will be

identity.

Claire Daly, Photography

Lara Philips, Photography

digital age worthy Shane Butler studiess Creative Digital Media in Blanchardstown Institute of Technology, and is in the middle of an internship in The Digital Hub on Roe Lane. We ask him the ins and outs of working in a space where work consists of creating digital & virtual spaces, and the importance of online presence for creatives.

Working in a place like the Digital Hub is very different from anything I’ve ever done.

It’s my first time to work in the industry and my internship has been a great experience so far. I had no idea what to expect at first coming into a small enough office with just 5 people when including myself. After the first week I was amazed at the level of creativity I was surrounded by, in such a small space. I realized quickly what the whole company was about.

The company is mainly working in digital design, and constructing creative online experiences for clients. It’s a thrill to be included in some of these projects, watching them grow from nothing into a completed work. We get a general brief from a client, stating what they are looking for and it’s up to us to come up with a creative solution. Brainstorming ideas is always the most exciting stage, it feels so limitless. Following from that, our creative director decides what we’re going to do and we proceed from there. It’s always exhilarating watching the process evolve and seeing the ideas come to life in a digital form. Marc, the creative director generally takes on most of the project work and constantly produces outstanding results. It’s like watching a really talented carpenter make an amazing piece in front of you, except in an online space.

I think it’s hugely important for creatives to maintain a digital presence, it’s 2015 and if you’re not online you’re only holding yourself back from the opportunities that are out there. Of course there are those who simply rather not be online out of preference, but the creative digital community around the world is growing at a rapid rate and it’s incredible to watch and be a part of. It’s an exciting time as the digital industry is constantly changing with the development of new technologies.

Want to create a web presence?

Here’s QualiaDublin’s top 10 sites to start with. http://artid.com/ https://crevado.com/ https://www.riseart.com/ http://www.behance.net/ http://www.artist-listing.com/ http://www.artistsites.org/ http://www.artselector.com/ http://www.artslant.com/ http://www.artwanted.com/ http://www.asingularcreation.com/ These are just a select few for starting an online portfolio.

Of course, social media is important to spread the word on your work, team these with a Facebook page, Instagram account, a Vimeo/Youtube account and your off to explore the virtual universe!

Ncad & Cuts to education standards could effect education standards in all art & design institutions. laura skehan In the recent weeks, we’ve seen a situation unfold in the media surrounding NCAD student protests over overcrowding in studio spaces, where the student numbers in Core year have risen by over 16%, but public funding has been cut by 23%. This reckless increase of student numbers has been evident for the past two years, with students fighting for space in first year studios and other years not receiving the necessary attention from lecturers because of the demands that come with larger student groups. Needless to say, the students are concerned over their education and welfare standards and addressed a number of issues in the letter placed on the desk of College Director Declan McGonagle by over 400 students individually.

The letters stated “It has become evident that the administrations primary concern at present is the management of revenue rather than the education and welfare of students. This shift in the college’s ideology has left current students abandoned and alumni disillusioned about the value of their degrees and the future of contemporary art in Ireland.”

A discomforting and uneasy feeling follows when reading this statement, not just for students of NCAD but creatives all over Ireland. If this is allowed occur in Institutions such as NCAD, supposedly the highest school of Art & Design in Ireland, what may happen other art institutions in years to come? DIT School of Creative Arts, Crawford College of Art & Design, LIT School of Art & Design, GMIT could all be under the microscope from now on. If this can occur in an institution with such a high reputation as NCAD, it can certainly happen in the others. A major reason as to why, when situations like this rear their ugly head, we as students and creatives must stand together and support the fight for better education standards in the Arts.

Ireland’s creative industry is one which needs to flourish and have a consistency while being fair and competitive for graduates, with our tourism depending on our abundant art & culture, our heritage and of course of wonderful landscape. Not forgetting Ireland being home to hundreds of multi-national corporations that are constantly looking for innovative and creative minds to bring us into the next developments in design and technology.

If the education and welfare standard waiver in NCAD, they could very easily begin to crumble elsewhere. Students must not let this happen, they must continue to support eachother for equal and high standards of teaching, and ensure that there is enough space for working within thirdlevel institutions in order to obtain the best possible degrees in their field.

We stand with the students of NCAD in their fight for a better level of education and welfare.

Students protest from out the windows and outside the buildings.

They continue to be in discussions with board of management and College Director on the issues they have raised.

qualia dublin presents: SPACE/S SPACE/s is the first major group show from Qualia Dublin, with work from 5 of it’s 9 members.

The artists exhibiting are Paul Rosser, Laura Skehan, Sarah O’Keeffe, Ciara Donnelly and Siobhan O’Connor. All 3rd Year Fine Art students, Qualia Dublin have been working together over the past year to bring together their ideas and curate a show which exhibits responses from researching how we engage, visualize, activate and re-create space.

How do we define space? How definite or temporary is a space? How do we respond to the constant transition within a space?

All are questions asked within Qualia Dublin’s work.

The artists work in a range of media, creating links between the works and the act of looking, attempting to engage the audience in a conversation surrounding contemporary ideas regarding space. The shows opening night will be Wednesday 22nd of April @ 6pm and will run until Sunday 26th April.

qualia dublin

funded by members of qualiadublin if you’d like to get involved in issue no.2: identity email: qualiadublin@gmail.com