Visual Artists' News Sheet – 2017 November December

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet ISSUE 6 November – December 2017 Published by Visual Artists Ireland Ealaíontóirí Radharcacha Éire

Banner making, Rachel Fallon; photograph by Alison Laredo

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Editorial

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

Contents

WELCOME to the November – December 2017 issue of the Visual Artists’ News Sheet.

Cover. Banner-making, Rachel Fallon; photograph by Alison Laredo.

5. Column. Noel Kelly. I Find that Offensive.

In the columns for this issue, Nick Miller discusses his role as curator of the RDS Visual Arts Awards 2017, while CEO of Visual Artists Ireland, Noel Kelly, offers insights into artistic censorship in Ireland.

The NI column comes from Ben Crothers, who outlines the evolution of the long-running monthly event, Late Night Art Belfast.

This issue includes several conference reports: Joanne Laws and Christopher Steenson report on VAI’s Get Together 2017 at IMMA; Sarah Kelleher discusses ‘FIRST EDITION’ – a print symposium at Millennium Hall, organised by Cork Printmakers; Ciaran Smyth reports from Toronto, Canada, on ‘The Creative Time Summit 2017’; and Sue Rainsford outlines the ‘Art & Trauma’ seminar at The LAB, Dublin;

6. Column. Nick Miller. RDS Visual Art Awards 2017.

7. Northern Ireland. Ben Crothers. Ten Years of Late Night Art Belfast.

8. News. The latest developments in the visual arts sector.

9. Regional Profile. Resources and activities in Mid Ulster are profiled by the Arts Office, Seamus

Heaney HomePlace, Brian Kielt and Trina Hobson.

11. Artist Publishing. Expanded Fiction. Ciarán Walsh discusses his recently-published novellas, Vortices

(2016) and The Sickness, Book One (2017).

12. Career Development. Sarah Hayden interviews Pádraig Spillane.

14. Seminar. Speaking the Unspoken. Sue Rainsford reports on the ‘Arts & Trauma’ seminar at The LAB.

Continuing the theme of art and trauma, EL Putnam explores the work of County Down-based glassmaker, Alison Lowry, in the ‘How is it Made?’ section. Louise Manifold discusses her upcoming project ‘AerialSparks!’ commissioned for the Galway 2020 European City of Culture. In the Career Development section, Melissa O’Flaherty discusses the themes that underpin her practice, while Sarah Hayden interviews Pádraig Spillane about his recent work and solo exhibition ‘What Passes Between Us’.

Seoidín O’Sullivan reports on her recent socially-engaged residency in Chicago; Rebecca Strain outlines ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’ – a project by artist Sue Morris commissioned by the Dementia Services Development Trust; and Stephen Rennicks presents several case studies that explore the ‘afterlife’ of public artworks. From a material culture perspective, Lisa Godson examines the banners created by the Artists’ Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment, situating them within the broader history of social protest movements. In the Artists’ Publishing section, Ciarán Walsh discusses his novellas, Vortices and The Sickness, Book One, while Stephen Brandes outlines The food, the bad and the ugly, a new publication by the Domestic Godless.

15. How is it Made? Fragile Strength. EL Putnam explores the themes of glass artist Alison Lowry’s

work.

16. Seminar. Pressing Matters. Sarah Kelleher reports on the ‘FIRST EDITION’ Print Symposium.

18. Residency. Work in Common. Seoidín O’Sullivan reports on her participation in the inaugural

Chicago–Dublin Artist Residency exchange.

19. Critique. ‘The Way Things Go: An Homage’ at the Butler Gallery; ‘LACUNA’ at the Gallery of Photography; ‘What Passes Between Us’ at Sirius Arts Centre; ‘Twilight’ and ‘What’s with the

Apocalypse?’ at VISUAL; Cliona Harmey, Seán Molloy and David Quinn at Solstice Arts Centre.

23. Career Development. Lunar Landscapes. Wicklow-based artist Melissa O’Faherty discusses the

focus and trajectory of her art practice to date.

24. VAI Event. Get Together 2017. Joanne Laws and Christopher Steenson report on the Visual Artists Ireland Get Together 2017.

26. Project Profile. Coded Perception. Rebecca Strain interviews Sue Morris about her site-responsive

installation ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’ in Nazareth House, Derry/Londonderry.

The Regional Profile for this issue comes from Mid Ulster, outlining recent cultural activities of the Arts 28. Artist Publishing. Eating: Their Own Words. Stephen Brandes discusses The food, the bad and the Office and the Seamus Heaney HomePlace. In addition, artists Brian Kielt and Trina Hobson discuss the ugly – a new publication by the Domestic Godless. realities of maintaining an art practice in the region.

30. How is it Made? Crossing Divides. Artist Louise Manifold interviews oceanographer Caroline Cusack as part of her collaborative residency project ‘AerialSparks!’.

Reviewed in the Critique section are: Kate Nolan at the Gallery of Photography; Pádraig Spillane at Sirius 31. Seminar. Of Homelands and Revolution. Ciaran Smyth reports from the 2017 Creative Time Arts Centre; Cliona Harmey, Seán Molloy and David Quinn at Solstice Arts Centre; Pat Collins and Paul Summit, Toronto.

Mosse at VISUAL; ‘The Way Things Go: An Homage’ at the Butler Gallery; 32. Project Profile. Solemn and Bedazzling. Lisa Godson examines artists’ banners through a material As ever, we have details of upcoming VAI Professional Development Programme, exhibition and public culture lens, situating them within the broader history of social protest movements.

34. Public Art. The Afterlife of Public Artworks. Stephen Rennicks assesses two public artworks art roundups, news from the sector and current opportunities.

commissioned at the start of the twenty-first century.

35. Public Art Roundup. Public art commissions, site-specific works, socially engaged practice and

other forms of art outside the gallery.

36. Opportunities. All the latest grants, awards, exhibition calls and commissions.

37. VAI Professional Development. Current and upcoming workshops, peer reviews and seminars.

Production: Features Editor: Joanne Laws. Production Editor: Christopher Steenson. News/Opportunities: Siobhan Mooney, Shelly McDonnell. Contributors: Stephen Rennicks, EL Putnam, Louise Manifold, Caroline Cusack, Rebecca Strain, Sue Morris, Lisa Godson, Ciarán Walsh, Stephen Brandes, Nick Miller, Ben Crothers, Sue Rainsford, Sarah Kelleher, Ciaran Smyth, Seoidín O Sullivan, Pádraig Spillane, Sarah Hayden, Melissa O’Faherty, Brian Kielt, Trina Hobson, Christine McGowan, Colm Desmond, Roisin Russel, Erika Tyner, Justin Careville, Anne Mullee, Christopher Steenson and Joanne Laws. A: Visual Artists Ireland, Windmill View House, 4 Oliver Bond Street, Dublin 8 T: 353(0)1 672 9488 E: info@visualartists.ie W: visualartists.ie A: Visual Artists Ireland, Northern Ireland Office, 109 –113 Royal Avenue, Belfast, BT1 1FF W: visualartists-ni.org Board of Directors: Mary Kelly (Chair), Michael Fitzpatrick, Michael Corrigan, David Mahon, Niamh McCann, Donall Curtin, Richard Forrest, Clíodhna Ni Anluain. Staff: CEO / Director: Noel Kelly. Office Manager: Bernadette Beecher. Publications: Joanne Laws, Christopher Steenson. IVARO: Alex Davis, Adrian Colwell. Communications Officer:/Listings Editor: Shelly McDonnell. Listings Editor: Christopher Steenson. Professional Development Officer: Monica Flynn. Bookkeeping: Dina Mulchrone. Membership Services Officer/Listings Editor: Siobhan Mooney. Northern Ireland Manager: Rob Hilken.

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

COLUMN

Noel Kelly I Find that Offensive

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Roundup HOW TO SAY IT THE WAY IT IS!

“Free societies ... are societies in motion, and with motion comes tension, dissent, friction. Free people strike sparks, and those sparks are the best evidence of freedom’s existence.”

Salman Rushdie

sculptures and text written by the artist. According to the press release ‘Rectangle, Squared’ “exaggerated a sense of the quizzical and mischievousness that we encounter in our everyday lives while trying to make sense of our surroundings.” crawfordartgallery.ie

STEMMING from Ole Reitov and Marie Korpe’s thought-provoking keynote presentation on censorship at this year’s Get Together, this column looks at some of the impacts of censorship on cultural life. Over the past few years, much has been written about the importance of freedom of expression. It has proven a difficult subject to pin down, as the rise of populism and the countering liberal outrage continue to battle for territory. Socio-political issues such as sexual violence, religion, gender, race, fundamentalism and so on, all vie for greater media representation. Culture and counterculture seem to exchange places, as they utilise the mechanisms of protest to raise awareness and to ensure that their voices are heard and understood.

This is not just in Trump’s America. We can now see a rising tumult across all continents and in within all facets of society, including the arts. Although the general media portrayed the destruction of cultural artefacts by ISIS as a main feature of the evening news, a quick internet search reveals that attacks on freedom of expression are widespread and constant. In recent months, the cases of: Elena Dorfman; Zhao Bandi; Liu Xiaobo; the Barbur Gallery; Dana Schutz; the Istanbul Biennial; and Sam Durant have all prompted us to consider our own position in relation to the diverse viewpoints expressed in each scenario. It becomes apparent that it is increasingly difficult to identify true definitions of censorship and freedom of expression.

It is worth investigating further one specific resultant effect. In a local context, this was probably best articulated by Panti Bliss during the Marriage Equality Referendum. On stage, she spoke of ownership and self-doubt brought on by expert viewpoints, which eschew dialogue and gain constituency via persistent repetition: “… I do sometimes hate myself. I hate myself because I fucking check myself while standing at pedestrian crossings. And sometimes I hate you for doing that to me.” In the arts, the avoidance of awkward subject matter has long been a form of censorship in Ireland. Many have found themselves either self-editing or resigning themselves to being part of a corralled group of ‘difficult artists’, brought out only when some prescribed form of political agitation is required. It has become a form of accepted social contract, more or less predicated upon the ongoing constraints of funders and wary officials. This bleak and painful reality is nothing new. Vast historical precedence has given way to the fast information and instantly accessible networks of contemporary society. There has always been a need to understand the differences between ‘calls to hatred’ and ‘discrimination’ that damage our society, and the necessity for open discourse that generates understanding and alternative views.

There is much work to be done in the Republic of Ireland. As a signatory of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Ireland’s implementation has raised many issues. The right to freedom of speech is surrounded by archaic laws that few have courage to address. The government-controlled IE Domain Registry currently has a right to ban all domain names it considers “offensive or contrary to public policy or generally accepted principles of morality”. In 2009 a new qualification of the Blasphemy Act was introduced. Instead of abolishing the Act, it was changed to include blasphemy against any religion, not just Catholicism, under the Defamation Act 2009, section 36. The law includes the offence of blasphemous libel. A catchall qualification exists that freedom of expression is a right unless it “undermines the authority of the State.” Furthermore, the constitution’s vague definition regarding the publication of “blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter” has led to restrictive judicial interpretation.

Deeply nuanced with legalese, it is common to find that the arts are very open to falling foul of these laws. Difficulties particularly lie within galleries that have a broad audience remit. Careful consideration must be given to access, with signage and closed access areas being one solution. However, it is more likely that potentially controversial works may simply be considered ‘unsuitable’ and are therefore excluded. Reitov and Korpe raised the pertinent question: “When is it censorship?” In recent years, VAI has pursued a number of cases, with some proven as censorship based on the religious or moral beliefs of funders. However, we also recognise that some were provocations, clearly designed to cause issues and different responses could have led to more positive outcomes. Like all of our advocacy work, we don’t see any instant solutions. Building on our successes in other advocacy areas, we will continue to seek change that promotes freedom of expression.

The main issue is to bring awareness that respects artists’ integrity in instances where artworks are presented in public spaces (even though the public are subject to many of these discussions from many other sources as part of their daily lives).

Noel Kelly is the Director/CEO of Visual Artists Ireland.

exhibition featured clay figurines by Olav Westphalen depicting satiricallystaged key moments in art history. At intervals during the exhibition, the video works ‘Resuscitations’ by Agnieszka Polska, Roee Rosen, Sally O’Reilly, Gernot Wieland, and Olav Westphalen were also screened.

IGNORE THE MANAGEMENT Image from ‘How to Say it the Way it is!’

Rua Red, Tallaght, is exhibiting works from the A/Political collection. ‘How to Say it the Way it is!’ aims to provide an “alternative narrative to the current political status quo – one of timeless defiance, resistance and disorder – from some of the most influential socially and politically engaged contemporary artists”. Curated by performance and visual artist Franko B, the exhibition commences a yearlong collaboration with A/political, with more exhibitions and workshops to happen in the future.

Some of the artists featured in the exhibition include: Petr Davydtchenko, Democracia, Barbara Kruger and Kendell Geers. ruared.ie

SLICE, VAST, DEEP

‘The Museum of Modern Comedy in Art (MoMCo) – A Proposal’, installation view; image courtesy of Ros Kavanagh and Project Arts Centre Michelle Horrigan, 2014, Apex, video still

‘Ignore the Management’ ran 9 Sept – 21 Oct at The W OR M in Aberdeen, Scotland. Presented by Peacock Visual Arts, ‘Ignore the Management’ was an exhibition of work by Irish artists Michele Horrigan and Sean Lynch that explored the multifaceted nature of the public realm. Focusing on their native home of Ireland, Horrigan and Lynch drew upon film, performance and dance in an attempt to challenge the societal and institutional values that aim to manage and orient aspects of human behaviour.

prtojectartscentre.ie

HEADLAND Elizabeth Magill’s ‘Headland’ ran in Limerick City Gallery from 8 Sept – 22 Oct. This was Magill’s first major solo Irish exhibition in over ten years. The paintings on show were representative of Irish landscapes whilst also evoking an aura of otherworldliness.

peacockvisualarts.com

DEFLATED CAPITAL

Elizabeth Magill, Red Bay, 2016 – 2017; image courtesy the Wilkinson Gallery and the artist gallery.limerick.ie

Aideen Barry, Topography of the Elsewhere: I dreamed of a nest in which the trees repulsed death, 2017, mixed media drawing, sound and moving image (digital still); image courtesy of the artist

ALL THAT SITS UNSAID Stuart Cairns exhibited an installa‘Slice, Vast, Deep’ is a body of work cre- Doireann Ní Ghrioghair, Deflated Capital I, 2016; Deflated tion of material drawings, finds and Capital V, 2016, both plaster and pigment ated by visual artist Aideen Barry, fabrications in Pollen Studios, Belfast, which ran at the Municipal Gallery, dlr Platform Arts, Belfast, hosted ‘Deflated on 7 and 9 Sept. ‘All That Sits Unsaid’ Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire, from 15 Sept to Capital’, an exhibition of work by consisted of series of objects found dur5 Nov. The work on show merged ideas Doireann Ní Ghrioghair, 7 – 23 Sept. In ing travels through forests, fields, shore of micro and macro together by using the work on display, Ní Ghrioghair took lines and urban streets. Some were disboth moving image and lens-based art- her lead from monumental architecture played as they were discovered whilst works. This was done as away of trying of buildings found in contemporary some were manipulated into new to visualise a sense of otherness and European cities. According to Ní forms, whilst others again were fabrihaptic inbetweenness and, consequent- Ghrioghair, the Classical style of archicated as a response to the shapes of the ly, to question the viewers’ ideas of per- tecture often seen in these buildings others. According to the press release, ception and truth. Dún Laoghaire- aims to cite antiquity, acting as signifithese objects show the “richness of the Rathdown County Council and the Arts ers of power and prestige. material world”.

For the sculptures in this exhibiCouncil both supported the exhibition. dlrcoco.ie tion, Ní Ghrioghair took latex casts of parts of Dublin Castle and allowed them to set unsupported, becoming RECTANGLE, SQUARED flaccid and deflated as a result. The artworks were intended to remind the viewer of the sunderance of empires.

Stuart Cairns, image from ‘All that Sits Unsaid’ platformartsbelfast.com facebook.com/pollenstudiobelfast

Sonia Shiel, Still Life With Plan, 2017

The Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, ran an exhibition of work by Sonia Shiel from 8 Sept to 28 Oct. Entitled ‘Rectangle, Squared’, the exhibition featured largescale paintings, along with smaller

THE MUSEUM OF MODERN COMEDY IN ART (MOMCO) – A PROPOSAL From 1 Sept to 21 Oct, Project Arts Centre, Dublin exhibited ‘The Museum of Modern Comedy in Art (MoMCo) – A Proposal’. The exhibition was dedicated to highlighting, researching and mediating on the hidden, comedic aspects of modern and contemporary art. The

DOUBLE MOVEMENT ‘Double Movement’ runs in Temple Bar Gallery and Studios from the 15 Sept until 18 Nov. This is a new exhibition of work by Irish artist Gavin Murphy comprises of film, installation, sculpture, text and photography. The work stems from the artist’s in-depth re-

6 COLUMN

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet ROUNDUP

Nick Miller RDS Visual Art Awards 2017

THE RDS Visual Art Awards provide an exhibition platform and significant prize fund for graduating artists as they transition from college into early professional careers. Each year, the RDS appoints a team of independent curators to view the end-of-year degree shows in art colleges around the country, where they long-list their selection of the best students. Artists are subsequently invited to apply online for the RDS Visual Art Awards.

This year, the applications and curators’ responses were reviewed by an independent judging panel consisting of nominees from IMMA (Seán Kissane), The National Gallery of Ireland (Lesley Tully), the RHA (Colin Martin) and two from the RDS (the Chairman, Noel Kelly, CEO of VAI; and myself as guest curator). Once the exhibition has been installed, the judging panel reconvenes and prizes are awarded on the day of opening.

The exhibition is strongly promoted as part of the RDS work programme and has a prize fund equivalent to over €27,000. This is the second year of this new awards exhibition structure. The highly successful, inaugural edition in 2016 was curated by artist Alice Maher – a stellar act for me to follow. Taking it on was daunting and way out of my quiet, studio-based comfort zone. I accepted the invitation, so as to engage outside of my normal practice, hoping that I may also have something to contribute.

The whole process is superbly directed and managed by a small committed RDS arts team, led by Dara O’Leary. They have spent the last number of years consulting the sector and transforming the ways the RDS effects its philanthropic arts brief, to address the needs of those graduating into the arena of contemporary arts.

The RDS is not state-funded; it raises money for the arts from commercial activities, sponsorship and from philanthropic bequests like the Taylor Award, which has been awarded annually to artists since 1860 (now valued at €10,000) and the R.C. Lewis Crosby Award (€5,000). It recycles around €2 million of its commercial income back into its work programme areas, with the arts programme currently benefiting from a budget of around €250,000.

As guest curator of this year’s exhibition, it was heartening to see the society’s continued commitment to the reimagined RDS Visual Arts Awards. The RDS is channeling existing and new philanthropic support for individual artists, and investing heavily in the presentation of their work in a highly professional environment. This provides potentially life-changing opportunities, recognition and support for graduating artists as they face a challenging future.

In curating this show, I had the privilege to work with a group of the country’s strongest graduating artists from colleges in the four provinces, both at degree and masters level. They survived the rigours of a demanding selection process to work with me over a very short and intense period of time, as we designed a new and temporary exhibition space in the RDS Concert Hall to present their diverse practices. The challenge for them was to adapt their graduate work to a totally new group context and environment.

I tried to engage with the artists’ individual energies to help realise their ambitions for the work, so that it speaks for itself. At the same time, I attempted to keep the exhibition as open as I could, to allow the artists to connect and dialogue with each other, both visually and intellectually. My approach to curating their work was instinctual and not academic. Much like my own way of painting in the studio, I try to open myself, to absorb all I am facing, to let it pass through me and – on a good day – to release it as something new.

We all live in very challenging geopolitical times, and artists too struggle to find a footing. But if anything unites the vision of these emerging artists, it is the clarity of focus on their subjects, fulfilling an inherent need to reflect and interpret our world, while striving to hold their own evolving languages accountable to truth. Some may address the struggles of these times, either internally or externally, while others offer alternative worlds; though none of it is ‘news’ and none of it is ‘fake’. They each dive as deep as they can into their chosen mediums, with a lungful of air, and come up offering us visions of what they have found.

The RDS Visual Art Awards 2017 exhibition ran from 25 to 30 October. The participating artists were: Monika Bogyos, Matthew Bourree, Yvonne Casburn, Hannah Clegg, Ara Devine, Isabel Eng-lish, Ann Ensor, Elaine Hoey, Stephanie McGowan, Eve O’Callaghan, Kevin O’Kelly, Yasmine Robinson and Kevin Smith.

Nick Miller is an artist based in County Sligo. rds.ie/visualart

November – December 2017

Gavin Murphy, video still from Double Movement, 2017

search into the now obsolete Eblana theatre, which was located in the basement of Dublin’s central bus station.

‘Double Movement’ is funded by The Arts Council and The Arup Trust, and is supported by The Irish Architecture Foundation and The Irish Theatre Archive.

findings, ‘Phlox’ aims to demonstrate how sexism in the illustration industry cannot silence female perspectives by showing depictions of women that are as diverse as those who created them. Carly Jean Andrews, Tuesday Bassen, Laura Callaghan, Anna DeFlorian, Cécile Gariépy, Penelope Gazin, Fiona McDonnell and Shannon Wright are featured in the exhibition.

artist is already known. The exhibition was curated by Joe Keenan in association with the Ireland India Council. farmleigh.ie

ARTNETDLR GROUP EXHIBITION

naughtongallery.org

INCARCERATION ALTARS

templebargallery.com

FUTURE PROOF

Shabnam Vasisht, Monsoon, 2017, mixed media, 35 cm x 45 cm

‘Incarceration Altars’ ran in Rathdown House, DIT Grangegorman, Dublin, 12 – 19 October. Working in partnership with the Irish Prison Service and the CDETB ‘Incarceration Altars’ attempted to provide a rare glimpse into a world that is usually hidden away from society. The project consisted of personal statements to the self in an environment bereft of personality, connecting the past to the present through materiality, location and duration.

ArtNetdlr are running a group exhibition of it’s members works in the Mill Theatre, Dundrum, from 22 Sept – 25 Nov. The artists featured in the exhibition are: Erika Tyner, Nathalie Carnec, Martina Mcateer, Shabnam Vasisht, Paula O’Riordan, Cathy Dillon, Patrick Molloy, Kymberly DunneFleming, Mary White, Ken Jennings, Gaby Browett, Adrienne Whelan, Kate MacDonagh, Mary O’Connor, Lenore Collins, Nancy Previs and Deirdre Lyons. The exhibition is curated by Aoife O’Toole and Roisin Hogan.

ggda.ie

milltheatre.ie

Image from ‘Incarceration Altars’

Brian Duggan, Trinity, (Test 0001) Atmospheric, Underground, Exoatmospheric, Underwater, 2054 test sites, 2016 –2017, digital print on cotton, 70 cm x 49 cm

The Lab, Dublin, is exhibiting ‘Future Proof’, a new group exhibition, 14 Sept – 14 Dec. ‘Future Proof’ brings together artists working in scientific and technological contexts in order to gain insights into new patterns of thought.

Featuring work from Brian Duggan, Sofie Loscher, Lucy McKenna, Siobhan McGibbon, Maria McKinney, Emer O Boyle, Meadhbh O’Connor, Matt Parker and David Stalling, the artists involved explore how looking at the past and present can advance how we imagine and shape the future.

THIS IS WHERE I BELONG

dublincityartsoffice.ie

PHLOX

Michelle Boyle, Ordinary Woman, 2017, video still with reconstructed archival sewing pattern

Michelle Boyle’s solo exhibition ‘This is Where I Belong… This Exact Spot’ took place in The Cowshed Theatre Space, Farmleigh House, Dublin from 27 Sept – 15 Oct. The work displayed was predominantly made over the past year between her cultural home of Ireland and her newly discovered homeland of Mahashtra, India, where Boyle has found Penelope Gazin, Queen of Mars, 2017 artistic expression for her female adult self.

From 12 Oct – 26 Nov, Naughton GalThe title of the exhibition is taken lery, Queen’s University Belfast, is from a poem written by one of Boyle’s showing ‘Phlox’. The exhibition pres- friends, which addresses notions of ents work by both established and identity and belonging. The title also emerging talent in female illustration. refers to the diverse range of materials As noted in the press release for the ex- Boyle uses in her studio process from hibition, a 2010 survey of 527 illustra- painting to drawing and (more recently) tors found that illustrators who were installation and assemblages. These female made less on average than their new works were presented alongside male counterparts. Challenging these watercolors and paintings for which the

THINKING, LIVING, DWELLING 26 Aug – 14 Oct, The Dock, Leitrim, hosted the exhibition ‘Thinking, Living, Dwelling’. The exhibition was designed to underpin and celebrate the achievements of Leitrim’s Green Door Festival and featured work from Leo Scarff, David Lunney, Nicos Nicolaou, Vanya Lambrecht-Ward, Zunaira Khurshid, Ali Kirby, Elaine Reynolds and Dominic Stevens. Over the course of the exhibition there was an associated programme of talks, meetings, and facilitated creative discussions between homeowners, architects, makers and artists, supported by Creative Ireland.

Invited speakers included Anna Macleod, Jo Holmwood, Selina Guinness, Vincent Woods, Henry Glassie, Paschal Mahoney, Deirdre O’Mahony, Stephen Rennicks and Mark Garry. Podcasts of the talks are available at thedock.ie.

Installation shot from ‘Thinking, Living, Dwelling’

thedock.ie

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

7

NORTHERN IRELAND

ROUNDUP

Ben Crothers

LANDSCAPES

– used to observe the imperceptible movements of electrons – and calculators that predate the electronic age.

Ten Years of Late Night Art Belfast

SUNDANCE

corkprintmakers.ie

RESIDUE THE first Thursday of every month is one of Belfast’s most important dates for the visual arts. Late Night Art Belfast (LNAB) sees galleries across the city extending their opening hours into the evening and introducing audiences to a range of contemporary exhibitions, events and arts activities – free of charge and open to all.

With approximately 20 participating venues – including Catalyst Arts, Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast Exposed, Platform Arts and Framewerk – LNAB is an important showcase for the region’s internationally recognised art scene. Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, the event has gained momentum since its inception to become a major driving force for engagement and participation across the city.

LNAB was established by Belfast City Council in 2007. It was intended as a means of promoting the city’s galleries, increasing ‘out of hours’ accessibility and galvanising a sense of connectedness within Belfast’s art scene. The council originally provided each venue with £300 to support the evening’s activities, including refreshments and staffing costs, which were complemented by the delivery of bus and walking tours. Whilst funding from the council ceased in 2009, the galleries have continued to keep the event running using their own resources. Galleries recognise how valuable it is for generating visitors and meeting their own exhibition targets. The event also offers the potential to reach new audiences who may be previously unfamiliar with Belfast’s arts scene. Most galleries now programme their exhibition openings around LNAB, making it an exciting evening to view brand new shows and meet the participating artists.

After Belfast City Council stepped back from the project, the LNAB bus tour became a private, although non-profit, initiative. This bus tour remains one of the best ways to experience the evening’s activities, especially for tourists and those less knowledgeable about the geography of the city (or when weather conditions makes walking between venues difficult). Guided by Rhonda Hunter, the bus travels to a range of LNAB venues, offering different experiences and highlights every month, with new routes and galleries constantly being added. At £10 per ticket, this is an affordable and lively whistle-stop tour, that is particularly effective at engaging new audiences (belfastart-tours.co.uk).

As a city, Belfast definitely benefits from having a large concentration of galleries in a relatively small area. Walking between venues is part of the fun of LNAB, and frequently, audiences may encounter a pop-up venue or street performance en route. The recently-produced Belfast Art Map is the perfect guide for the evening to keep visitors on track. The map was produced by Belfast Visual Arts Forum and designed by Alex Synge, with support from Belfast City Council. It features approximately 40 venues, as well as numerous artist studios and public artworks, in both central and greater Belfast. Many LNAB participants start their evenings in the more peripheral galleries, working their way towards the Cathedral Quarter, where restaurants and pubs are popular choices after the galleries close. Whilst the Cathedral Quarter is arguably the hub of Belfast’s vibrant cultural scene, it is important to stress the fact that LNAB is a citywide and inclusive initiative that relies on collaboration between galleries, arts venues and studio groups throughout the city.

More recently, due to East Belfast’s rapidly growing arts scene, a new initiative sees the area’s galleries opening late on the first Wednesday of the month. This offers a nice precursor to LNAB and also makes Thursday’s schedule a little more manageable. A city certainly can’t complain when its visual arts offerings are too much for one night. Therefore, the first week of the month is much anticipated amongst arts enthusiasts, who come from all over the city.

LNAB is undoubtedly the largest monthly event in Belfast’s arts calendar.

However, the city offers a whole range of arts-focused tours and events for those wanting an even larger slice of the city’s vibrant arts scene. This might include participating in a Cathedral Quarter walking tour to explore the area’s famous street art, or discovering Belfast’s architectural history through walking or cycling tours organised by PLACE – the Built Environment Centre for Northern Ireland. For those wanting a more laid-back encounter, the Ulster Museum’s ‘Slow Art Sundays’ offer gently-paced tours, which focus on just a few works from their collection. Similarly, a series of talks organised by the Naughton Gallery, called ‘Art in the A.M.’, takes place in a different coffee shop every month, inviting attendees to meet a range of local and international artists in a relaxed and intimate setting.

More details about Late Night Art, the participating venues, public artworks and other events across the city can be found in the 2017–18 edition of the Belfast Art Map (belfastartmap.com). Copies are available in public libraries and all participating art galleries across the city.

Ben Crothers is the Curator/Collections Manager at the Naughton Gallery, Queen’s University Belfast.

WIlliam Crozier, Landscape, 1988, watercolour on paper, 26 cm x 38 cm

Taylor Galleries, Dublin, ran an exhibition of William Crozier’s paintings from 13 Oct to 14 Nov. ‘Landscapes’ was a collection of the artist’s work dating from the period 1985 to 1995, consisting of paintings of the West Cork islands, inlets, fields and woods, as well as paintings of Crozier’s own garden and the farmland surrounding his home. The exhibition coincided with ‘The Edge of the Landscape’, a major two-part retrospective of Crozier’s work taking place at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre and IMMA, Dublin. taylorgalleries.ie

Image from ‘Sundance’ Image from ‘Residue’

Galway Arts Centre hosted ‘Residue’, an exhibition of ceramic works by UK artist Phoebe Cummings and Derry artist Gail Mahon, 12 – 27 Oct. Curated

by Kate Howard and Rob D’Eath, ‘Residue’ aimed to explore ceramic traditions and new creative developments in the field. The work took a variety of forms – from large-scale constructions to site-specific installations. The Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Applied Arts Ireland, Galway City Council, Galway Arts Centre and GMIT supported the exhibition. galwayartscentre.ie

‘Sundance: The Miracle of the Sun’ ran at Artlink, Fort Dunree, Donegal, 13 – 23 October 2017. The exhibition was created by Mary McClelland to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the ‘Miracle of the Sun’, which took place in Fatima, Portugal. The ‘Miracle of the Sun’ occurred on the 13 Oct, 1917, in response to a prophecy made by three shepherd children that the Virgin Mary – referred to as “Our Lady Fatima” – would appear and perform a miracle on that date. The exhibition showcased photographs, religious artifacts, testimonies of the witnesses and artworks made by McClelland.

IF NOT YOU

artlink.ie

INHABIT EARTHWORKS

Image from ‘Inhabit’ Mark Clare, ‘Bodele Project’, 2017

Mark Clare’s exhibition ‘If Not You’ runs 21 Oct – 26 Dec at Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh, Co. Cork. For this exhibition, Clare draws upon the stories of natural events, which are invisible to the naked eye but essential for the ecological equilibrium of the environment, as inspiration for his work. The work is framed in ecological terms but is rooted in complex issues relating to science, policy-making and economics.

As the press release states, the purpose of the work is to “invite as wide an audience as possible to participate in this most crucial conversation” around ecological disturbances and climate change. The exhibition is supported by Cork County Council Environmental Patnership.

‘Inhabit’ was an exhibition of video pieces by Mick Fortune. It ran at the Presentation Centre, Enniscorthy, Wexford, 18 Aug – 29 Sept. Fortune’s work voyeuristically explored found, forgotten and unusual spaces and their inhabitants (or lack thereof). The films on show included Dasein (2017), Lilim (2017) and Diary (2017). The exhibition was organised in conjunction with Wexford Arts Centre. presentationcentre.ie

TÍR SÁILE

Mary Hickey, Tectonic, 2017, acrylic on canvas, 86 cm x 117 cm

Mary Hickey’s exhibition ‘Earthwatch’ ran at Signal Arts Centre, Bray, Wicklow from 25 Sept – 8 Oct. This was Hickey’s first solo exhibition. Hickey’s work is based on abstracted forms, inspired by her interest in the processes of the natural world – from the gentle flow of nature to its extreme weather conditions. Her works involved pouring pools of water onto canvases prepared with many layers of gesso. These pools of water were then injected with acrylic colour pigment of various thicknesses, creating paintings with no obvious brush stroke. signalartscentre.ie

siriusartscentre.ie

IMPERCEPTIBLE MOVEMENTS

Image from the Tír Sáile site

Tír Sáile Symposium ran at Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet, Mayo from 13 to 14 Oct. The symposium included presentations from artists Joanna Hopkins, Gareth Kennedy, Noah Rose and Selma Makela, who have been commissioned Angela Gilmour, analyzing by Áras Inis Gluaire to take part in pub‘Imperceptible Movements’, a solo ex- lic art residencies. Dorothy Cross, who hibition by Angela Gilmour ran at the is working on a research project on Inis Cork Printmakers Print Showroom, Gluaire, also gave a talk. Visitors to the Cork 5 Oct – 3 Nov. The exhibition com- symposium were also given a tour of bines art printmaking and installation Tír Sáile sites. mayococo.ie work to explore the hidden architecture within scientific instrumentation

ART IN A BOX ‘Art in a Box’ runs at Hamilton Gallery, Sligo, from the 5 Oct to 2 Dec. As the press release states, the exhibition offers a chance to see how artists from various different forms of practice “overcome, embrace and respond to the common constraints imposed by the format of a 35 cm x 42 cm box”. The invited artists featured in the event are: Bernadette Cotter, Tom Fitzgerald, Marie Foley, Graham Gingles, Cléa van der Grijn, Alice Maher, Zoë Murdoch, Eilis O’Connell, Mavis Thomson and Vanya Lambrecht Ward. hamiltongallery.ie

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

News

November – December 2017

city libraries and to all Suki Tea stockists.

The Belfast Art Map is produced by Belfast Visual Arts Forum, with key contributions from KERRY FILMMAKER IN RESIDENCE 2017 Mieke Vanmechelen has been recently appointed Ben Crothers (Naughton Gallery at Queen’s), Tonya

by Kerry County Council as the new Kerry McMullan (Belfast Print Workshop) and Rob Filmmaker in Residence 2017. Her residency will Hilken (Visual Artists Ireland). The map was focus on reaching out to secondary school stu- designed by Alex Synge (thefirst47.com). dents through a collaborative project, as well as Audiences NI also supported the project. The her own professional development as an artist. Belfast Art Map is sponsored by Belfast City The Filmmaker in Residence is a partnership Council, Suki Tea and Visual Artists Ireland NI. between Kerry County Council and The Arts For more information on the project, visit belCouncil. It is supported by the National Parks and fastartmap.com, which now includes a feed to Wildlife Service, and the Trustees of Muckross Visual Artists Ireland’s exhibition listings.

House. As an expanded partnership, it is intended to demonstrate the ethos of Creative Ireland by “enabling creativity in every community”. For IAA GENERAL ASSEMBLY more information on the residency visit kerryco- The International Association of Art Europe (IAA/ AIAP) had their 13th General Assembly on 14 co.ie.

September 2017 in Dublin, Ireland. The General Assembly was hosted by VAI. The delegates were representatives of various national committees for 2018 BUDGET Immediate reactions following 2018 budget alloca- artists across Europe, including representation tion have been ones of disappointment across the from the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia countries and arts sector. Chair for the Arts Council of Ireland, mainland Europe. The IAA Europe President Sheila Pratschke, stated that the council’s funding Werner Schaub chaired the assembly.

The topics discussed at the General Assembly of €68 million for the next year would be enough to meet existing commitments, but would be included: the potential for IAA to join Culture insufficient in allowing the organisation to Action Europe; recent advancements in addressing expand its support to artists and arts organisations copyright issues; and updates to the IAA card (which allows free entry to participating galleries across the country.

The €68 million figure is a 5% increase from and museums across the world). Delegates of the the council’s 2017 budget allocation. However, this assembly also attended VAI’s Get Together event, annual increase is still down, after many years of held at Irish Museum of Modern Art on 15 cuts, from the level of funding the Arts Council September and concluded their trip by visiting the used to receive pre-2008. The funding allocation is Belfast Peace Walls on the 16 September. also significantly below the double funding for the arts and culture sector that was previously promRETURN 2017 – ARTISTS CLAIM YOUR SHARE! ised by the Government in May of this year.

Chair of the National Campaign for the Arts Artists whose work has been published in an Irish (NCFA), Jo Mangan, stated that the budget decision book, magazine or periodical are eligible for paywas “completely inconsistent with the commit- ment through the Irish Visual Artists Rights ments, and indeed policy focus, outlined by An Organisation’s annual RETURN scheme. RETURN Taoiseach and through the prism of Creative royalties are accumulated through activities such Ireland”. The NCFA called on Varadkar to clarify as the photocopying and scanning of work in whether his promise for double funding still stood, books and magazines. IVARO collects a share of and if so, how such a promise would be delivered. licensing fees on behalf of visual creators and disDuring the budget speech, The Minister for tributes them once a year. Claimants provide Finance, Paschal Donohoe, announced an addi- examples of what books or magazines their work tional €13 million for the Department of Culture, has featured in. Claims can be made by completing Heritage and the Gaeltacht (CHG). Minister for an online application form at ivaro.ie/return.

Culture and Heritage, Heather Humphreys, has Deadline for claims is Friday 10 November. allocated €8.5 million to arts and culture. €1.5 million of this figure has been allocated to the Irish Film Board (a 9% increase for the board). ARTISTS ESTATES CONFERENCE Humphrey’s also noted that over the period 2018 A conference on the theme of ‘Artists’ Estate to 2021, there would be an additional €90 million Management’ will take place in the RHA on in funding for CHG – an increase of almost 50%. Thursday 23 November. Initiated by IVARO, the Nonetheless, this is still some way off the increase day-long event will bring together experts from the relevant fields of artists’ legacy planning and pledged by the Government. management. Sessions will address legal and financial considerations as well as providing practical advice around preserving, promoting and enhancing artistic legacy. The event is designed to provide practical knowledge from industry professionals sharing their insights as well as a networking opportunity for legal and financial advisors, BELFAST ART MAP The 2017 edition of the Belfast Art Map was recent- artists, estates and art-world professionals. As well ly launched in September. It is the second version as legal and tax issues, sessions will look at the art of the map and now indexes 39 visual arts organi- market and the role played by museums, archives, sations operating in the Belfast area, including galleries and other diverse partners. The day will studios and galleries. It also features information be essential for professionals who advise those on 20 public artworks dotted around the city, entrusted with an artist’s legacy and will be eligiincluding the names of the artists who created ble for Continuing Professional Development them. 30,000 copies of the map have been pro- Points. For further information see www.ivaro.ie duced and distributed across Belfast, including

VAI News

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

9

Mid Ulster: Resources & Activities Change & Opportunity

Seeing Things

Brian Kielt, Gas! Gas!, 2017, oil and charcoal on canvas, 76 cm x 102 cm; image courtesy of the artist

Brian Kielt, Don’t You Dare, 2017, pen and marker on paper, 21 cm x 30 cm; image courtesy of the artist

“THAT’S it. Game over. We had a good run”. This is what entered my head when we lost the LOFT studio in the heart of Belfast at the end of 2015. We were given a month’s notice to vacate the premises after large swathes of North Street were earmarked for ‘demolition and development’. I packed up my artworks and materials to bring back home to the foot of the Glenshane Pass. Setting up a new studio in my garage in January 2016, there was a feeling of disconnection from what was happening in Belfast. I had spent ten years studying in the city and, along with artists Eoin McGinn and DavidLee Badger, had built the foundations of what we felt was a well-respected studio and event space.

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t let my own practice fade away, so I started to paint again. Slowly, the works kept coming. Soon I could barely keep up with what was coming out on the canvas. What I thought was a severing of ties, actually became exactly what the work needed – space and time to breathe and develop, with fewer distractions. Another advantage of situating my practice in Mid Ulster is being at the midway point between Belfast and Derry – two creative hubs of Northern Ireland that I regularly visit. I’m also not far from the Strule Art Centre in Omagh, which always has an interesting exhibition programme.

LOFT still exists through the monthly ‘Drink and Draw’ events we organise in Belfast, however the move back home has allowed me to dedicate less time to studio and events management and to focus on what really matters – my practice. I’m interested in phenomenology, how people experience things differently and how perception of images varies from viewer to viewer. In my work, I like to heighten this proposition by combining personal, historical and found imagery. This allows separate images to collide and fight for dominance. Sometimes these elements have different orientations, meaning that only one or two overlapping images can be read in a particular piece.

For me, drawing is an editing process that involves whittling down marks until they seem sufficiently estranged from each other. The drawings are then transferred onto a canvas, either by hand or using an overhead projector. Fixing the second or third image to the canvas is often the biggest challenge, as this is when the piece can

either work compositionally or sink like a stone.

The work, just like the process and ideas underpinning my practice, is in a constant state of flux. For me, drawing happens alongside the painting process. I merge oil paint with charcoal to find a balance between a painterly approach and the markmaking qualities of sketching. Artwork titles usually hint at the origins of the images I use, but ultimately, interpretation of a narrative is left up to the viewer.

My paintings are largely figurative in nature, but I have noticed looser moments creeping into recent works. I am inspired by the work of many artists including South African painter Marlene Dumas, Hungarian photographer Robert Capa and British painter and printmaker Walter Sickert.

Capa’s war photographs, in particular, are raw and uncompromisingly immediate – something I also try to capture when in the studio. Over the past few years, I have gathered and collected various random objects to use as points of reference in my paintings. But ideas for other uses of these found objects are hard to shake and I keep threatening to branch out and experiment with sculpture. This comes from a desire to develop skills and broaden my artistic reach beyond painting and drawing.

It could be argued that a work of art is only finished when the viewer brings their ideas to it. I like this open-ended concept. In a politically-divisive time, when everyone seems to be ‘pro-this’ or ‘anti-that’, I welcome having uncertainty and questioning surrounding my art. This grey area is where I want to situate and play with my practice.

Future goals include undertaking a master’s degree and building a studio, but goalposts often move. Right now, I know this is where I’m supposed to be. The initial dread and scepticism of leaving Belfast and moving back to ‘the sticks’ has been replaced with an urge to make work. It’s confirmation that, although I have a long way to go, I’m on the right track for now. Change can be disheartening and frightening, but opportunities are always there to make the best out of any circumstances – you just have to recognise the signs.

ONE of Seamus Heaney’s final poems was published as part of a collection to celebrate the National Gallery of Ireland’s 150th anniversary, alongside essays, stories and poems by Irish writers responding to paintings in the gallery’s collection. In this poem, Heaney explores the quiet beauty of a canal painted by the French Impressionist painter Gustave Caillebotte. Rooted as ever in the landscape, where the “soul could mind itself or stray beyond”, the poem reminds the reader of a strong connection to the visual arts that Heaney had, both in his work and in his life.

Seamus Heaney HomePlace is a purpose-built arts centre in Bellaghy, Magherafelt, dedicated to the poet, writer and Nobel Laureate, who was born, raised and laid to rest in the village. As Arts Programmer at HomePlace, I use Heaney’s work as a springboard to create a multidisciplinary programme of events that explores the themes and issues of his poetry, providing insights into the man and his work. In our opening year, the arts programme was inspired by the 12 collections of poetry he created between 1966 and 2010. The year-long programme ‘12 Books, 12 Months’ focused on a different collection each month. As part of this event, leading artists were invited to respond – in whatever way they chose – to each collection, offering fresh perspectives on Heaney’s words. These ‘performance reflections’, as we referred to them, comprised responses from actors, writers, theatre makers and visual artists.

Irish artist Dorothy Cross was invited to respond to Heaney’s collection ‘Seeing Things’ and she did so with a specially created video work that explored the space between the image and the word, with a focus on the colour blue, referencing Heaney’s distinctive voice throughout. Speaking about the piece, Cross stated: “Seamus Heaney’s poetry is laden with nature and beauty held in words. When reading poetry, as a non-writer, I tend to focus on one word or phrase, and perhaps miss the next. It is in the rereading and familiarisation that crystallisation occurs. The navigation of a poem is unique to each individual as it also is when encountering artworks.”

This link between poetry and artworks was also explored by award-winning Russian artist Varvara Shavrova, who created a unique multimedia installation for The Helicon – the performance space at Seamus Heaney HomePlace. In response to the ‘The Haw Lantern’ collection, Varvara reflected on the influence of Russian poetry on Heaney while he was writing these poems. Her audiovisual installation used the voices of two actors speak-

ing in both English and Russian, alongside video footage of Irish actors Olwen Fouéré and Tony Murphy. Music by Irish musician Paul Roe and English composer Gavin Bryars also featured in this installation.

One of the world’s most celebrated land artists, Richard Long, is also connected to the ‘The Haw Lantern’. Long’s artwork Mud Hand Circles – a series of handprints arranged in eight concentric circles – struck a chord with Heaney and inspired The Mud Vision, which is one of Heaney’s bestknown poems from this collection.1 In March 2017, Richard Long visited HomePlace to chat to Declan McGonagle, former director of NCAD, about his fifty-year career and the work he, like Heaney, creates out of nature itself.

Although the centre does not have a dedicated gallery space, I am still planning more opportunities for artists to create work and to be featured in our arts programme in The Helicon. In October, I invited three artists, who have each painted or photographed Seamus Heaney, to HomePlace.

Painter Colin Davidson and photographers Eamonn McCabe and Geray Sweeney talked with Dr Declan Long, discussing the importance of the portrait within the visual arts and their experience of attempting to capture Heaney – and his words – in one image.

When we think of Heaney’s work, our responses are often tied up with the art he has inspired. HomePlace brings visitors in contact with many such works, including: Jeffrey Morgan’s stunning painting of Heaney in his study; a 2013 pencil sketch of Heaney by Colin Davidson; a print from Edward A. Maguire’s 1974 portrait and, of course, Murdo McLeod’s unforgettable photograph which graces the HomePlace entrance hall. As Heaney himself notes in the poem A Basket of Chestnuts (which was written after sitting for Maguire’s aforementioned portrait): “in oils and brushwork we are ratified”.

Seamus Heaney referred to the experience of looking at visual art as giving rise to “a feeling of being dropped through some trapdoor of perception”. If I can create that same experience for visitors to Seamus Heaney HomePlace, then I know I am on the right path.

Cathy Brown is the Arts Programmer for Seamus Heaney HomePlace. seamusheaneyhome.com Note 1. Richard Long, River Avon Mud Hand Circles, presented as part of ‘ROSC ‘84: The Poetry of Vision’, Guinness Hop Store, Dublin (24 August – 17 November 1984).

Brian Kielt is a visual artist living in Maghera, County Derry/Londonderry. He is co-founder of the LOFT collective in Belfast. briankielt.tumblr.com

Colin Davidson, Study of Seamus Heaney, 2013, pencil on paper; installation view; image courtesy of the artist and Seamus Heaney HomePlace

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

REGIONAL PROFILE

Painting for Survival

Providing Outlets

Trina Hobson, The Adventures of Gustave H, 2017, oil on canvas, 117 cm x 91 cm; courtesy of the artist

INITIALLY training and working in the field of interior design, I have always had a love of colours and patterns. It was in a curtain pattern book where I discovered my longstanding favourite colour, chartreuse. Committing to taking the baton, I closed my interior design business in 2014 after thirteen years, when I was a second year, full-time Fine Art student in Ulster University. There, I found a way to continue playing and experimenting with colour. The immediacy of slopping oil paint over canvas was very satisfying, and it became my therapy.

I was a forty-something, single mum of three young children. I had saved up to buy a new car, as my old Jaguar estate was becoming less dependable for our summer trips to Donegal. It was in Donegal that I had taken up oil painting again several years earlier. There was no incentive. I was just indulging in a little ‘me time’ while I was away with my children; away from money worries and time constraints. The painting began. They weren’t very colourful to begin with as I was in a low place at the time, to be perfectly honest. But over the next few months, dark, moody portraits on paper became colourful, free, abstracts on canvas.

When I began to trip over paintings at home (instigating a need to rehome them), I offered up three pieces to Higher Bridges Gallery in Enniskillen. Through an open submission process, my paintings were accepted and two were sold on the exhibition’s opening night. Following this I was offered my first solo exhibition. And so, my journey into the art world took legs. The car fund became the university fees fund and I found a sense of belonging amongst my odd, socially-awkward family at art college and beyond. Doors into various worlds began to open in a strange, surreal experience and the freedom I found in painting very quickly became a passion ... and a necessity. I discovered, and eagerly ate up art history books.

With the challenges of dyslexia, the process was difficult, painful even – but that nice kind of pain.

The colours and patterns in the paintings of Édouard Vuillard resonated with me; reconnecting me to my past, and his influence echoed through my work sporadically.

I went into university with the attitude that I could drop out if it didn’t work – run away – and almost immediately realised I was home. Still, the reality of existing as an artist was a concern. As I

had responsibilities, I was acutely aware that I needed to sell my work for survival. During my college days however, I was also made very aware that money was a secondary concern to the practice of making art. In my case, it was a concern for the future. I was able to commit to my practice wholeheartedly by telling myself that, after university, if I wanted to be a more commercially orientated painter, I could. That was that.

It could be down to luck and timing in the market that my paintings do sell. Just over a year out of university and I’ve had solo exhibitions in Enniskillen, Omagh, Dublin and Belfast. My work has also been included in many group exhibitions such as Boyle Arts Festival, the Royal Ulster Academy’s annual exhibition and Mall Galleries in London. This year I have also been invited to participate in Solomon Fine Art’s winter show (24 November – 27 January) and I’ve been offered a solo exhibition in Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown, in 2018.

Looking forward, I’m encouraged by the support available to artists through bodies such as Visual Artists Ireland. Being active and taking opportunities through VAI’s panel discussions, professional development workshops and Belfast Open Studios, all bring visibility. It does take courage to put yourself out there, as you’re open to criticism and being interpreted in a way that may not have been your intention. But that’s up to the viewer, and some may suggest, that’s none of my business.

I believe to survive as an artist, luck will never be enough to get you through. I’ve set up studios in Belfast city centre which I commute to at least four days a week from my home in Dungannon. I actively seek out exhibitions, commissions and opportunities to show and sell my work. I continue to paint precisely what I can.

Often, what remains on the canvas after the final strokes are not what I set out to achieve.

Nevertheless, my intentions are always to be courageous, curious and committed, and I hope this comes through somehow in my work.

I feel very privileged to work in an arts centre with such rich historical significance. Located at the top of Market Square, Dungannon, Tyrone, The Hill of The O’Neill and Ranfurly House Arts and Visitor Centre was officially opened to the public in October 2012. Visitors to the centre are invited to discover Dungannon’s importance within Irish and European history and to explore Dungannon’s links with the O’Neill clan, the subsequent Flight of the Earls and the Plantation of Ulster, which are all illustrated in a permanent exhibition.

I graduated from the Art & Design Centre, University of Ulster (now known as the Belfast School of Art), at a time when there were very limited opportunities for art graduates in Northern Ireland. I am glad to now be involved in an arts centre that can offer such a broad range of artistic opportunities to the local community. Ranfurly House offers a temporary exhibition space to both local arts practitioners and artists from further afield. I am delighted to see how well this space has been utilised, with applications flooding in to exhibit in the space, which is currently booked up well into 2019. Upcoming exhibitions include Paddy O’Connor, Martin Campbell and Helen Heron.

Our community arts programme engages with local residents to raise the profile of the arts by providing activities to suit all ages and genres.

The programme broadens participation in the arts through increased audience involvement, with the aim of encouraging awareness and appreciation of the arts. In particular, I like to involve groups and individuals that traditionally may feel excluded from active participation. Our arts programme has a long history of cultivating and showcasing the arts through partnerships with our key Voluntary Sector Arts providers in the area, such as: Bardic Theatre, Donaghmore; Craic Theatre, Coalisland; and in more recent years, the Castle Hill Theatre Group, Dungannon. Our Disability Arts Stakeholders group, established in 2007, also offers a wide-ranging annual programme to the disabled residents of the borough.

I am involved in the Dungannon Arts Forum, which plays a major role in promoting and widening participation and collaboration in the arts, as well as enhancing networking and information sharing. One of their key projects in recent years has been the annual Blues Festival. This year, the festival took place on Saturday 5 August in conjunction with Dungannon Busking Festival. I also

Trina Hobson is an oil painter based in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone and the founding member of Lombard Studios, Belfast. trinahobson.com

Chris Wilson, Timeline, 2014, bronze sculpture

work closely with our History Forum, whose members are passionate about heritage and local history in particular. I like to share their interest with the local community by offering monthly talks on topics of historical and cultural interest.

As Arts and Culture Development Officer, my aim is to offer something for all age groups. Our programme of classes and one-day workshops covers a range of activities, from creative writing and pottery, to fused glass art, jewellery making, parent and toddler art, furniture restoration and Lego animation. Our Square Box performance space in Ranfulry House offers a platform to both local amateur musical acts, as well as the more celebrated artists from near and far. The full range of arts and culture activities in the centre are detailed in our events booklet (which is produced three times per year) and on our website, which also has an online booking system.

I am involved in the distribution of arts funding under Mid Ulster District Council’s small grants scheme which is open to constituted community and voluntary groups. This scheme supports groups in order to encourage them to develop their artistic programmes and introduce new arts activities. The council welcomes project applications that are of a high artistic standard and will provide real benefits to those participating.

One major project I coordinated, which takes pride of place in front of Ranfurly House Arts and Visitor Centre, is a bronze sculpture by artist Chris Wilson titled Timeline. The public artwork was erected in 2014 and was funded by The Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the Department for Social Development and Dungannon Borough Council. It celebrates the historical and modern significance of Dungannon and takes the viewer on a visual journey, from the early settlements represented by the hill fort on one side of the sculpture, to the development of Dungannon as an important market town for the linen industry on the other. The artist used the sweeping arc shape, derived from the idea of the lunula and penannular brooches, to visually link the past and present, through the use of patterns and designs that connect the area’s ancient histories with its modern industrial heritage.

Christine McGowan is Arts & Culture Development Officer for Mid Ulster District Council dungannon.info

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

11

ARTIST PUBLISHING

Expanded Fiction CIARÁN WALSH DISCUSSES HIS RECENTLY-PUBLISHED NOVELLAS, VORTICES (2016) AND THE SICKNESS, BOOK ONE (2017).

Ciarán Walsh, The Sickness, Book One, 2017

THE format of the artists’ novel is a less-practiced strategy among the diverse array of approaches available. Though isolated twentieth century examples can be found – as developed by artists such as Giorgio de Chirico, Leonora Carrington and A. A. Bronson – there has recently been increased interest in the idea of artists writing novels. This may derive from rising attention towards artist publications in general, or the increasing emphasis on narrative within contemporary art, as well as from a revaluation of paper-based novels in the age of digital reproduction. Artists’ novels are often composed with the intention that they be understood within the context of the artist’s practice or read against the background conversations of contemporary art. The actual sense of them being ‘fiction’, ‘novels’ or ‘books’ can take very elastic forms. Their identity, however, and their ability to operate, is heavily dependent upon common and learned understandings of these terms.

David Maroto and Joanna Zielinska, co-curators of ‘The Book Lovers’ research project dedicated to the format, posit that artists’ novels can be seen as another medium within the visual arts, akin to installation or video (in this sense, a durational or navigable form).

Very often an artist’s novel is an autonomous work, linked only to other artworks by the artist through its inclusion in a community of practice. Frequently, artists’ novels have direct relationships to their visual work and can be: one element of an ongoing multi-media project; physically sited within a multi-part installation; or paired to a parallel artwork, with each element regulating the other’s reading and appreciation. Often, a series of visual works could have their genesis in a pre-existing fictional text written by the artist, or sometimes this relationship can be generated the other way around. The written and material styles of existing artists’ novels also display a lot of variance.

Some are stylistically more ‘classic’ in nature and are not superficially distinguishable from a typical novel. Others may apply structuralist strategies to heavily interrogate the familiar book format, with the experience of fiction writing addressing these notions over and over again.

I have produced two artists’ novels to date, choosing each time to work specifically in the scale of the novella – a slim paperback of roughly 100 to 120 pages. Stylistically, I decided upon a relatively conventional format for both novellas, so that the reader can quickly approach the work via a recognisable framework. Commencing with an initial sense of ease, the novella gradually sets up tensions between a reader’s desires for immersion and entertainment (through identification, exposition, and world-creation), as well as a parallel tendency towards critical thinking (through an unfolding of the subject matter and self-reflexivity within the writing). Both of my novellas are

Ciarán Walsh, Vortices, 2016

described as ‘speculative fiction’: brief slices of disruption taking place in near-future scenarios. This is a key approach within the operative schema of my novellas-as-artworks, which conjure recognisable but entirely artificial worlds. It is a skewed version of ‘now’, towards which the reader is temporally travelling, without any hope of arriving. In fictional writing, I have found an ability to intertwine different grades of investigation – historical research, varied theory, anecdotes, biographical fragments, snippets from popular culture, half-remembered facts, elements of daily observation – and intertwine them, their origins and details partially-masked or completely obscured through their submersion in fiction. This levelling technique works to erode informational hierarchies and engender new conceptual arrangements within the narrative framework.

My first novella, Vortices, arose out of ongoing artistic research on the formal visual conventions of European ethnographic museums.

The narrative emerged as a psychologically-driven, science-fiction piece, based on a fictionalised version of the biography of French chronobiologist, Michel Siffre. The time between the idea’s rough conception and my first sitting down to really write was about a year and a half. It took another year and a half (working alongside the development of other projects) to conclude the process in three rounds of drafts. This period also involved fundamentally learning to write, while figuring out my own position within a whole new territory. Looking at various production options, I decided to produce a unique, numbered edition, using Risograph printing. I worked with Berlin-based graphic designer Moritz Grünke, who runs the small press and print studio We Make It. The process of producing the book was very intimate and hands-on; it involved a number of meetings to discuss printing options, to explore design questions, to clarify possibilities within the budget and to personally check on each stage of production. For me, the nature of the Risograph production technique manifested the verbs ‘printing’ and ‘producing’ as very haptic gestures, so I wanted this sensibility to come across in the finished publication.

This was achieved through a final design decision to use an exposed binding method known as ‘Swiss Brochure’. I opted to bind the pages with a strip of blue-coloured glue, emphasising the book’s physical ‘book-ness’.

During the production stage of Vortices, I was invited by the SwissItalian curator, Elisa Rusca, to contribute a new work of fiction for the upcoming exhibition, ‘Into the MU’ at Kunsthalle Bratislava, Slovakia, in February 2017. At the time, I was working on a concept for a fourpart fictional series called ‘The Sickness’ that would use the broad motifs of disinformation and haunting during a worldwide pandemic

as the backdrop for several tighter narrative and conceptual circles.

Rusca commissioned me to produce The Sickness, Book One, for the exhibition. Seeking out a small Berlin-based publisher to co-produce the novella, we linked up with the designers and publishers Themes for Great Cities. This time around, I was more practiced at the work of writing and clearer about my objectives and deadlines, so the composition took less time. We went with a larger printing press in Germany known for handling art publications. We decided on digital offset printing and standard perfect binding in a larger run, as this best suited the project, with the finished publication being closer in design to a conventional paperback format. Since the entire process was handled between the publisher and the printing press, I was less present during production, so it was a very different experience to that of making Vortices. The proofreading and design decisions were finalised, and then a few weeks later some boxes turned up at my studio with my new artworks inside.

Generating fiction books in the role of artworks has thrown up a whole range of interesting questions around audience, distribution, reception, sale and display. The process has prompted me to re-examine my own practice, regarding the spheres in which an artist and their artworks can exist. I have not yet resolved for myself the question of my books’ identity in relation to ‘non-artist’ novels and the distribution conduits traditionally available to these products. So far, I have only made my novellas available for sale in a more limited way, either online or via a few specialist art bookstores. I have been invited by several curators to include my novellas in exhibitions, artist book collections and other similar presentations in various institutions, including the Kunsthalle Bratislava, Ujazdowski CCA Warsaw, MuHKa Antwerp and CCA Glasgow. I am also interested in the books’ autonomous existences and how they are being read in semi-public and social spaces, or in the private spheres of those who have bought or received a book. I recently heard of a book being bought by one person and subsequently posted to a second reader. Excerpts from The Sickness, Book One have been translated to Slovakian and German for local exhibitions, altering these pages of original text and my own relation to them: the first translated language I cannot read; the second language I can. Recently, I have started thinking about how the novels might function in different versions and through alternate media. I am currently engaged with creating the core content for The Sickness, Book Two. Using this format, I want to further expand upon not only definitions of the ‘novel’, but the range of strategies available to artists.

Ciarán Walsh is an Irish artist who lives and works in Berlin

12

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Pádraig Spillane, Wish Landscape Dream Lover, 2015, installation view, TACTIC, Cork; photograph courtesy Roland Paschhoff

Tactile Simulations SARAH HAYDEN INTERVIEWS PÁDRAIG SPILLANE ABOUT THE TRAJECTORY OF HIS PRACTICE AND HIS RECENT EXHIBITION, ‘WHAT PASSES BETWEEN US’, AT SIRIUS ARTS CENTRE.

Pádraig Spillane, Burning Inside and Out, 2015, poster print, metal rail, china ornaments; installation view from ‘Shills’ at 126 Gallery, Galway

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

13

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Pádraig Spillane, Eyes Future Tense, 2017, digital collage on Hahnemühle 310 gsm, 25 x 16 cm

Sarah Hayden: For several years, your practice has tended towards three dimensions, and yet it maintains a preoccupation with surfaces. How do you conceive of this development and how does it interact with your interest in interrogating ‘depthless’, two-dimensional images?

Pádraig Spillane: My interest in surfaces centres on how they can be reordered. This can involve searching the innards of materials, or cutting and tearing printed matter, to examine how things look and feel in proximity to each other. The images and objects I use – whether found or sought out – are generally commercial, industrial or mass-produced materials. These things are often familiar, ubiquitous or communally experienced in some way through our shared visual culture. I deconstruct these images and overlay them, looking for prompts and frissons and creating unexpected effects. The work’s evolution from two to three dimensions came out of this inquiry and from my desire to produce tactile transformations within an imagesaturated contemporary context.

I do like the ambiguity of the word ‘depthless’. It suggests something that has no depth and can vastly extend. I originally worked with ‘flat’ materials, such as printed matter for collage and décollage. I am often attracted to how a figure or a body is placed within an image.

I focus on considerations such as the significance of colour, the space around a body, what gesture is being shown and the props or symbols being used. I am also interested in how a tear or cut may operate within such images, particularly with regard to the tensions created by disparate elements coming together. I also work a lot with mirrors to harness the seemingly virtual spaces created by reflective surfaces.

SH: Much of your work seems hyper-attuned to instances of proximity and points of physical contact. What motivates this fascination with making artworks that appear preoccupied with touch?

PS: Using a collage strategy, the relationship between image fragments (or images and objects in my sculptural assemblages) is guided by proximity; relations and associations emerge, based on the placement of these images. Contact and nearness are fundamental to how I work. It is the excitement of breaks and interruptions – the openings generated through alterations to context and content – that drives my practice. I am interested in concepts of mirroring and doubling, as well as what makes something completely distinct.

Tactility, stimulation and the simulation of haptic desire are central to this process.

Pádraig Spillane, Pulse Positions, 2017, digital collage on Hahnemühle 310 gsm, 32 x 37 cm

PS: For me, it comes back to a very simple artistic priority of making work that I want to see. I admire artworks that do not merely reflect or reinforce the status quo, but critique it, break it down or twist it into something new through different forms of representation. Isa Genzken, Hannah Höch and Jimmy De Sana are artists that I would regularly look at and think about. I admire their ability to configure objects alongside the figure and their commitment to developing commentary through the use of manufactured materials, as well as the idealised ‘push-and-pull’ that manifests in their work.

SH: To what degree do you think of your practice as being research-led? What are you reading at the moment and what have you read that has informed your recent work?

PS: My background is in philosophy and as such, my research is directed towards absorbing new theoretical perspectives, to see how they can help generate new work. For my recent exhibition, ‘What Passes Between Us’ at Sirius Arts Centre (2 September – 15 October), I have been rereading Zone Fragments for a History of the Human Body, edited by Michel Feher, and From Communion to Cannibalism: An Anatomy of Metaphors of Incorporation by Maggie Kilgour. Both are insightful in examining both how and why we have generated many diverse constructions of human embodiment.

In addition, Space, Time and Perversion: Essays on the Politics of the Body by Elizabeth Grosz and Cruising Utopia by José Esteban Muñoz propose that how we speak brings the body into social being, and that the body is something constantly being produced and refashioned. I have also been reading Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi’s new book, Futurability: The Age of Impotence and the Horizon of Possibility and #ACCELERATE MANIFESTO for an Accelerationist Politics by Alex Williams and Nick Srnicek. These have all fed in to my work. China Miéville is a sci-fi writer whom I also admire. While working on my exhibition, Miéville’s short story collection, Three Moments of an Explosion, was always somewhere in the back of my mind.

SH: To what extent was ‘What Passes Between Us’ conceived as a site-specific project?

PS: To borrow from Alice Jardine’s discussion ‘Of Bodies and Technologies’, a suitable orientation for the exhibition might be the phrase “rituals for future bodies”.1 ‘What Passes Between Us’ contemplated modes of production that bring forth different transformations of – and within – the body. When devising the concept with the curator, Miranda Driscoll, the location of Sirius was used explicitly to orientate the exhibition. The arts centre is located within the SH: Your work has been featured in several group shows recent- industrial global hub of Cork Harbour – a site that holds a concentraly. Is there a constellation of artists, movements or tendencies tion of pharmaceutical and technological plants producing products (either current or art historical) with which your work seeks to and commodities to alter human bodies. The idea that bodies are subject to intervention thematically underpins not just this exhibiconnect?

tion but also my wider ongoing practice.

The works presented at ‘What Passes Between Us’ borrowed from minimalism in their use of simple structures, repetition, grids, outsourced fabrication and industrial-grade materials such as mild steel and PVC. They were also influenced by post-minimalism and queer minimalism, with bare assemblages aiming to engender bodily feelings. This minimalist aesthetic was subverted by the introduction of a repeated palm which, in turn, was manipulated and made strange using the logic of the grid, which heightened the sensation and affect.

Something that exists ‘to touch’ has been turned into something ‘to be touched’, viewed and felt. This image became both captivating and horrifying, through its repetition and rearticulation within the array.

SH: What prompted your decision to incorporate a sonic element into this installation?

PS: I was interested in investigating the voice as a site and generator of desire. I was listening to a lot of choral music, as well as enjoying vocals, ad-libs and refrains in house and pop tracks. The erotic potentiality of vocal articulation is something that both my collaborator, modern composer Simon O’Connor, and I are fascinated by. For the show at Sirius, we created two musical scores, based on the themes of attraction, repulsion, intimacy and encounters between bodies and objects.

SH: Given the future-oriented, speculative attitudes manifesting in your recent work, I’m prompted to finish by asking: What happens next in your practice? Do you have a direction in mind?

PS: My intention is to examine how embodiment is culturally and technologically produced, in a Foucauldian sense. I wish to open cracks in how we understand our biopolitical relationship with technology. In 2018, my work will feature in a group show at Crawford Art Gallery. Together with photographer Claire Ryan, I will also curate an exhibition at Sirius Arts Centre for the biannual Cork Photo Festival 2018. Since 2013, I have been a part-time photography lecturer at Crawford College of Art and Design (CIT) and critical discussions on how compositions and images are structured have become an increasingly important strand of my research.

Pádraig Spillane is a visual artist who works with photography, collage and assemblage. He is based in Cork.

Sarah Hayden is a writer and lecturer at the University of Southampton.

Note 1. Alice Jardine, ‘Of Bodies and Technologies’ in Dia Art Foundation’s Discussions in Contemporary Culture Number One, ed. Hal Foster (Seattle: Bay Press, 1987), pp.151-158.

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

SEMINAR REPORT

Anne Maree Barry, Kitty D., HD still from ‘Otium cum Dignitate – Leisure with Dignity’ at The LAB, Dublin, June 2017; photograph by Ros Kavanagh

‘Arts & Trauma’ seminar, 16 June, The LAB, Dublin. Speakers L–R: Niamh McCann, Dr Catherine Conlon, Patricia Cronin, Anne Maree Barry, Michelle Browne

Speaking the Unspoken SUE RAINSFORD REPORTS ON THE ‘ARTS & TRAUMA’ SEMINAR, WHICH TOOK PLACE ON 16 JUNE AT THE LAB, DUBLIN. HELD in the context of two concurrent exhibitions at the LAB – Anne Maree Barry’s ‘Otium cum Dignitate ~ Leisure with Dignity’ and Patricia Cronin’s ‘Shrine for Girls’ – the ‘Arts & Trauma’ seminar sought to reconsider the role of art in relation to trauma, as well as the issue of handling trauma that is ‘live’. Barry and Cronin joined Vaari Claffey, Dr Tina Kinsella, Dr Catherine Conlon, Michelle Browne and Niamh McCann in tackling questions of responsibility and ‘implicatedness’ within this charged subject matter.1 Among other issues, the discussion focused on what contemporary art practice – as opposed to other modes of intervention – can contribute to the conversation.

The two exhibitions on display dealt with female bodies and experience, as well as the trauma and invisibility that women can fall prey to. Cronin’s three shrines to victims of gendered violence countered this invisibility by forging sites of remembrance. Meanwhile, Barry’s central video work saw four characters – Madam May Oblong, Kitty D., Countess Aldborough and The Custom House – establish a dialogue between “locality, history, architecture and the independence of women in a specific time”. With these artworks nearby, restoring dignity and giving voices to female bodies became a central theme of the panel discussion.

Catherine Conlon spoke about her work in social policy and her belief that women’s sexual and fertile bodies continually prove to be one of the most destabilising issues for the state. Referencing the 1992 ‘X Case’ and the applied policy research that uses the general term ‘crisis pregnancy’ as a euphemism for abortion, Conlon spoke about the traumatising effect of policy on women’s lives. She also highlighted the problem of presenting individual women’s testimonies in a limiting two-dimensional written form: “no matter how often I tried to talk about ‘pathologising’ as the outcome of regulation of women’s fertile bodies … the tendency was to re-pathologise the women”. Her move into art practice was motivated by this recurring issue in her social research, as well as her desire to “work with stories in some kind of format that would shift the gaze away from individual words and patterns of words”. Selecting text from her interviews with women, she collaborated with musician Dr Evangelia Rigaki to produce an installation-based performance. This piece aimed to “[shift] the gaze from the individual women onto the entanglement of culture, community and state” in which their stories occurred. For Conlon, the “powerful potential” of arts practice was unleashed in this piece, successfully shifting the implication from individual women to a whole culture of Catholic Ireland, characterised by patriarchal oppression.

The role of art practice in relation to trauma and traumatised subjects, as well as its ability to challenge the dominant discourse, was another recurring theme. Cronin described her exhibition as attempt-

ing to “incite a shift in context that might provoke a shift in thinking”.

She stated that the artist’s role is one of keen observation, reflection and response – a position that should resist “any kind of editorial impulse”. Niamh McCann also discussed the role of performance work in these destabilising terms. Referencing Anu Productions’ site-specific performance Laundry (2011), which took place in the Magdalene Laundry, on Sean MacDermott Street (just a few minutes’ walk from the LAB), McCann described the process of interrogating the “hidden histories of buildings, of the female and of the state”. The Magdalene Laundry buildings are still intact, meaning we are still obliged to physically confront these sites where atrocities against women took place.

Vaari Claffey reiterated how trauma remains active, not only on a physical level within the built environment, but in the sense of inherited trauma that “we as a society still hold”, which manifests “in us and how we live our lives”. The genetic transmission of trauma through the mother’s line means that the traumas of women are “not only in our daughters but in young men now”. This bodily dissemination of trauma over time underscores our inability to eradicate suffering. Its recurrence and active status within contemporary bodies is inevitable, and so modes of articulation are vital if representation and eventually catharsis are to be achieved.

The artist’s role in forging such modes was discussed through the term ‘response-ability’ which considered: how much of a response an individual is capable of; what an artist takes on and where she puts it afterwards; and the ethically complex relationships between artists and audiences. Michelle Browne discussed a performance she developed for ‘Labour’ – a multi-venue, live exhibition of performances by Irish female artists, which was presented in London, Derry and Dublin.

Browne’s The Grace of God (2012) was a highly demanding piece, both for the artist and the audience, which hinged on the vast, repetitive and boring labour performed by women in the laundries. Indeed, by the 1970s, the laundries had taken on so much manual work that local women had to be employed to complete it. By partaking in the “labour of the loom” and magnifying these women’s everyday toil, Browne aimed to create some sort of dialogue that people can access.

The issue of handling trauma in the present moment is complicated by its tiered nature: after trauma’s initial occurrence, it is relived over and over in memory and sensation. Its wilful reactivation is therefore ethically fraught and runs the risk of re-traumatisation.

Expanding on this with regard to her own practice, Cronin stated: “In the history of western art, there are so many brutalised women’s bodies … I want to address these topics, but I don’t want to gratuitously repeat them in a way that feeds into a patriarchal commodity – it’s

such a delicate balance. If you make a mistake, you’re just re-traumatising”. Moving into conversation with the audience, re-traumatisation was discussed in terms of a perceived insufficiency of language. It was suggested that overuse of the term trauma runs the risk of it becoming an ultimately disabling ‘trend word’. McCann spoke of a “blanket language” and an “oversaturation” that can only serve to further silence those who can’t have their voices heard. For her, these stories must be represented without neutralising their charged centre.

The necessity of maintaining a visceral charge was aligned with the “affective productive potential of art”, which renders it distinct from other disciplines. Art has the capacity to prompt audiences to actively consider how they might be complicit in a scenario and how they might effect change.

The final question of the afternoon focused on how we might reach beyond the dominant discourse and “speak the unspoken”.

Proposed avenues of inquiry included live performance work, based on its potential to “play the action that moves us toward activation”.

The activity of “queering of the form”, was also suggested as a process that can destabilise existing narratives and provoke new dialogues.

Doing so, as McCann phrased it, would “activate something that is not about blame but release”. By considering what kind of activation they have as a maker, the artist allows an audience to consider what we can do with trauma moving forward. This would enable us to take steps towards a future that moves us past blame and repression.

In her closing comments, Tina Kinsella articulated a need for “new forms of symbolisation for trauma” that counteract its “unsymbolisable” nature. In other words, there is a need for new methods of speaking that don’t pathologise women, traumatise them or re-enact appropriations of their bodies. In moving away from our immersion in the state and what that has meant historically for female bodies, we need new kinds of approaches that we can partake in without the risk of perpetuating existing harmful models. Such approaches will allow us to get closer to experiences and events that have no symbolisation within a state narrative. As Kinsella notes, “it’s too easy to say that healing comes next” – we must shift the context, shift the gaze and finally shift the thinking.

Sue Rainsford is a writer and researcher based in Dublin. She was recently announced as recipient of the VAI/DCC Critical Writing Award 2017. suerainsford.com

Note 1. In this context, the term ‘implicatedness’ denotes a shift away from thinking about individuals as isolated units, towards viewing them as interconnected elements within a larger network.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

15

HOW IS IT MADE?

Alison Lowry and Jayne Cherry, 35 I Cant’s (installation view), 2017; photograph by Glenn Norwood

Fragile Strength EL PUTNAM EXPLORES THE THEMES OF VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE IN THE WORK OF GLASS ARTIST ALISON LOWRY. GLASS is a distinctive material. It plays with light to varying degrees of translucency, reflecting and refracting luminescence. Glass is strong and able to withstand high temperatures, but is also capable of cracking, shattering into shards that can only be reconstituted by melting it down. While it appears to be solid, glass always maintains a degree of fluidity, moving slowly over time at rates that escape human perception. Glass is used in a range of architectural, industrial, scientific and design contexts, making its potential applications as versatile and malleable as the material itself.

County Down-based glass artist Alison Lowry skillfully engages with the multifaceted physical properties of glass, in order to engage with trauma and its aftermath. In her first major solo exhibition ‘(A) Dress’, at Millenium Court Arts Centre (5 August – 27 September), Lowry explored the limits of the material through various experimental constructions. For the installation Home Babies, she utilised the technique of Pate de Verre, which is commonly used to transform paper into glass by coating the material with a sand mixture and firing it in a kiln so that the original object burns away. Lowry used this technique to transform nine antique christening gowns into glass fabric. The resulting objects were suspended from the ceiling with invisible thread, delicately floating in the space.

An audio piece comprising names read aloud, reverberated through the gallery. These names were taken from the 796 death certificates of children who died at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home.

The certificates were collected by local historian Catherine Corless, spurring an investigation in 2014 that uncovered substantial human remains at the former institution run by the Sisters of the Bon Secours.

The names were recited one after another in the gallery, as if filling the empty space between the dresses, with the children’s absences becoming increasingly pronounced as each name was read. Some of the children didn’t even have first names and so were referred to simply as “baby”, “male” or “female.” Even without explicit reference to the content informing the work, the installation was haunting, as Lowry’s gowns – the colour of dirty snow – rotated slowly under spotlighting.

Glass is not just the material used by the artist but the means of transmitting the complexities and impact of trauma. The delicate interplay of light and glass throughout the exhibition conveyed an atmosphere that was both fragile and resilient. Such paradoxes were present in various manifestations, requiring the viewer to engage

Alison Lowry and Jayne Cherry, 35 I Cant’s (detail), 2017; photograph by Glenn Norwood

deeply with each piece in order to examine the intricate presentation strategies and grasp their complex meanings. The piece, 35 I Cant’s, was created in collaboration with County Down-based artist Jayne Cherry. For this work, Lowry created a pair of glass shoes. However, unlike the Cinderella footwear that they evoke, these shoes are crafted from leaded glass, making them weigh about 5 or 6 kilograms.

Walking in these shoes is, therefore, no easy task; it involves strenuously lifting the burden of their weight.

An accompanying video opens with the statement: “On average, a woman is assaulted 35 times before her first call to the police”. The video then fades to a shot of Cherry cowering in the corner, wearing the glass slippers and holding a pair of glass rods. Her head is obscured by a grey mass of tulle, perceived as a monstrous bridal veil, conveying a mental fog that she recalls from her personal experiences of abuse.

Cherry slowly begins to move, sliding the heavy shoes across the floor, because she is unable to lift them. The sound of scraping glass is coupled with gasps and laboured breathing. The performance was shot from multiple angles in one take. It documents an unrehearsed struggle of endurance in shoes that inhibit, rather than enhance, her ability to walk. A close-up of the shoes shows the stress on her feet; her toes appear mangled, as if they have been forced into blocks of ice, with these fairytale objects becoming devices of torture. In total, Cherry takes 35 steps in the shoes, embodying the “35 I cant’s” referenced in the title. The objects and performance-to-video draw on popular fairytales and the ability of art to create affective experiences through visuals and sound. Across all of the works presented in the exhibition, the material properties of glass became a potent vehicle for sharing the complex emotional and psychic impacts of trauma, referencing traumatic experiences without simply retelling stories.

When it comes to art that concerns trauma, Jill Bennett, Director of the Centre for Contemporary Art and Politics at the University of South Wales, Sydney, suggests that such artworks should be treated as transactive rather than communicative: “[Art] often touches us, but does not necessarily communicate the ‘secret’ of personal experience”.1 In this way, such work does not submit a unified meaning or truth underlying trauma, rather it invites the viewer to conceptually engage with the aftereffects of trauma that are not so easily understood. Bennett emphasises how such an approach is appropriate, since trauma, as it is classically defined, is “beyond the scope of language and representation”.2 In this sense, the works presented in ‘(A) Dress’ can be viewed in the context of other recent artworks by Irish artists that specifically address institutional traumas experienced by women and children.

For example, Áine Phillips’s practice regularly engages with the buried histories of oppression and violence against women. As part of the 2012 exhibition, ‘LABOUR’, Phillips presented the 8-hour performance, Redress: Emotional Labour, which drew inspiration from the experiences of women institutionalised in the Magdalen Laundries. In a more recent body work, ‘Mot Juste’ (2016), developed in collaboration with Polish/German artist Justyna Koeke, Phillips created 12 wearable sculptures that engaged with violence against women. One work from this series, Concrete Woman (2016), was a dress made from

cement-impregnated fabric and wire mesh, in response to the brutal murder of Clodagh Hawe and her three sons by her husband. The garment was imagined as a form of armour that may have protected her against the attack and was fabricated in her honour.

Other Irish artists whose work is informed by institutional trauma include Amanda Coogan. Her performances, You told me to wash and clean my ears (2014) and Talk Real Fine, Just Like a Lady (2017), were created in collaboration with the Dublin Theatre of the Deaf and sought to engage with the little-known historical abuses suffered by the deaf community in Ireland. Helena Walsh created various performances informed by the continued injustices faced by survivors of the Magdelene Laundries, while Jesse Jones and Sarah Browne’s In the Shadow of the State explored the role of national institutions in the regulation of the female body. Similarly, Aideen Barry’s uncanny videos and animations offer glimpses into psychological impact of systems of oppression faced by women in Ireland.

Lowry draws from experiences of personal and collective trauma, weaving them together to draw memories out from the shadows and into the collective consciousness. In A New Skin, Lowry engages with her own experiences of abuse and bringing her abuser to court. The work consists of a glass torso dressed in a flesh-toned studded leather collar by London-based fashion designer Úna Burke. The collar rippled like a regenerated reptilian skin as it rose above the neck and draped over the shoulders, leaving the glass body below exposed. On closer examination, this exposed ‘flesh’ revealed excerpts from various personal documents including: the artist’s birth certificate; a diagnosis of “neurotic depression”; and compulsive repetition of the term “shame”.

These texts emerged from Lowry’s experiences of having to revisit such documents during legal proceedings regarding the abuse she experienced earlier in her life. As with other works in the exhibition, the final form of the piece was led by the material itself. The glass cracked during production, leading Lowry to repair it using gold – in keeping with the Japanese technique of Kintsugi. Contrasting the softness of leather with the hardness of glass, the sculpture, which was lit from within, presented a fragmented body in a state of repair.

Throughout the exhibition, vulnerability was not something to be avoided, rather it was treated as a source of strength. Created through collaboration with various artists and organisations, these collected works not only functioned as a testament to the experimental potential of glass, but also engaged with the complexities of trauma in meaningful ways. Lowry’s practice connects with the work of other artists who aim to highlight and break the ongoing cycle of systemic injustices in Ireland. As the exhibition title suggests, these issues are yet to be appropriately addressed.

EL Putnam is an artist and writer currently based in Co. Louth and editor of in:Action – Irish Live Art Review. elputnam.com inaction.ie Notes 1. Jill Bennett, Empathic Vision: Affect, Trauma and Contemporary Art (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005), p. 7.

2. Ibid. p. 3.

16

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

SEMINAR

Pressing Matters SARAH KELLEHER REPORTS ON THE ‘FIRST EDITION PRINT SYMPOSIUM’ AT MILLENNIUM HALL, CORK.

Presentation by Michael Kempson (director of Cicada Press and Convener for Printmaking Studies, University of New South Wales)

‘Over, Over & Over’ exhibition by Ton Martens at City Hall, Cork

Artist Trail and closing reception at Cork Printmakers

November – December 2017

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

17

SEMINAR

Talk by Susan Tallaman (editor-in-chief of Art in Print and lecturer in the Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago)

THE ‘FIRST EDITION Print Symposium’, initiated by Cork Printmakers, took place on 23 and 24 June, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival. The event was a celebration of the perceived “cosmopolitanism” of printmaking, and the vitality, fluidity and infinite adaptability of the medium. Keynote speaker Susan Tallman (editor-in-chief of Art in Print and lecturer in the Department of Art History, Theory and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago) defined cosmopolitanism as “universality plus difference”. The invited speakers – who were drawn from across Europe, the UK, Australia and the US – spoke to this key strength of printmaking. Uniquely embedded in community, but also historically connected to a network of distribution, printmaking, it was argued, offers a salutary counter to the increasingly “rootless” international art scene.

As the first dedicated printmaking symposium in Ireland since the 1980s, this two-day conference explored printmaking as an expanded practice in contemporary visual culture. The breadth of the programme – which comprised 26 speakers, as well as nine exhibitions across seven venues – was the result of Cork Printmakers’ own enthusiastic and determinedly outward-facing spirit. It was motivated by years of relationship-building through the organisation’s participation in other international printmaking conferences, in Dundee, San Francisco and Hangzhou, China. As demonstrated by so many of the conference speakers, contemporary printmakers travel, collaborate and share skills with unique vigour and enthusiasm.

Tallman’s presentation argued for print’s contemporary relevance by outlining the ways in which cosmopolitanism has always been, and continues to be, innate to printmaking and its structures.

Making matters, she argued; it has knock-on effects regarding the meaning, impact and perception of an artwork. Printmaking requires specialised equipment and huge technical skill and has therefore tended to be more difficult to access, in comparison to drawing media, for example. In order to make prints, an artist needs to work with a complex group of specialists, necessitating a completely different infrastructure to that of other mediums. Meanwhile, the proliferation of active, local printmaking workshops – as demonstrated by the six Irish print studios presenting at the conference – is of particular significance, given the increasing emphasis on ‘internationalism’ within contemporary art. Although the ‘local’ has now taken on a sheen of virtue in resistance to globalism, it was argued that localism can precipitate deracination or even xenophobia. Tallman contended that the print workshop is therefore a singularly productive place – plugged into a community, yet connected to a wider network of discussion and enquiry – which offers important avenues for communication, within the current climate of unprecedented globalisation and its attendant anxieties.

That printmaking is essentially a collaborative pursuit was reaffirmed by the speakers in the ‘Crossing Borders’ panel discussion, in which contributors reiterated the importance of maintaining and developing connections, especially during precarious times. Cora Cummins (IADT Dun Laoghaire lecturer and co-founder of The Fold) recounted her project ‘Unfolding, Unfolding and Refolding’. When the artist-run space Workroom closed, Cummins came up with idea of The Fold, an occasional and experimental publication she co-edited with Alison Pilkington, which allowed them to operate without recourse to a physical space. Meanwhile, Catherine Hehir, whose artistic practice increasingly involves collaboration with fellow artist Noelle Noonan,

Artist’s Talk by Michael Kempson at Triskel Project Space

uses her role as a lecturer in CIT Crawford College of Art and Design (CCAD) to demonstrate to her students the ways in which printmaking can span different media. Hehir related her experience of collaboration through several projects such as ‘National Interest’, devised for Cork’s Art Trail Festival, whereby artists were invited to create and then destroy a print over a 24-hour period. She also discussed ‘Excavate’, a subsequent project at Cork Public Museum, which drew on the history of the 1903 Great Exhibition in Cork’s Fitzgerald’s Park to create three-dimensional structures, incorporating shredded prints from ‘National Interest’. Such diverse projects testify to the nimbleness of printmaking, contradicting preconceptions about its ‘heavy metal traditionalism’, while also demonstrating the medium’s unique link to memory and the archival.

The ability of printmaking to tap into both personal and cultural memory was further elaborated by Dutch artist Tom Martens and Dr Deirdre Brollo (University of Newcastle, Australia). Martens’ work uses the lo-fi technique of frottage to preserve architectural traces. His use of frottage began with the footprint of his childhood home and was later deployed to conserve the traces of homes destroyed by the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Discussing the ways in which print operates in contemporary culture, Brollo argued that printed material continues to do much of the ‘heavy lifting’ surrounding the preservation and transmission of cultural memory. Brollo and Martens contributed to the ‘Expanded Practice’ session, which closed with a presentation from the Project Twins – Cork-based art and illustration duo, James and Michael Fitzgerald, whose collaborative practice bridges commercial and fine art realms. Their witty, clean-lined designs have been commissioned by various publications, including The Guardian, Nature Journal and Wired magazine. As members of Cork Printmakers, The Project Twins were responsible for the graphic identity of the conference, which framed the stage with oversized cardboard boxes printed with geometric designs. The networks of distribution Tallman referred to have atrophied somewhat in recent years, a phenomenon particularly evident within Irish museum and gallery collection policies, as highlighted by Dr Angela Griffith (assistant professor of Art History, Trinity College Dublin). Dr Griffith spoke about the impact of printmaking within Irish modernism, as well as its historically important role in connecting Irish artists and audiences with the international avant-garde. For example, a series of Louis le Brocquy prints was published by Galerie Maeght in Vence, France, alongside work by Picasso and Chagall, while the David Hendriks Gallery (formerly located in St. Stephen’s Green from 1969 to 1983) opened with an exhibition of etchings by Picasso entitled the ‘Vollard Suite’. Despite these examples, Griffith highlighted a comparative lack of art historical scholarship on the heritage of Irish printmaking, as well as the dearth of a coherent national collection policy. She identified the need for a major exhibition in a leading cultural institution, in order to foster a sense of printmaking heritage and to secure its place in contemporary Irish art.

While Tallman and Griffiths discussed the history of printmaking and Martens and Brollo demonstrated printmaking’s tie to memory, other speakers pointed to the thrilling possibilities offered by cutting-edge technologies. Projects discussed included the intricate topological objects realised through 3D printing processes by NCAD’s Dr Andrew Folan, as well as Dr Carinna Parriman’s new digital colour printing technologies that combine RGB pigments to make white, lending their resultant images an almost iridescent lustre. In addition,

Tracy Hill, research associate from the University of Lancaster, recounted her experiments of printing with glazes onto concrete, further attesting to printmaking’s versatile ability to adapt to new technological developments.

The rich and vital links between education, research and art practice were emphasised by the closing speakers, Jason Urban and Leslie Mutchler (University of Texas, Austin) and Michael Kempson (director of Cicada Press and Convener for Printmaking Studies, University of New South Wales). Kemspon argued for the importance of forging community links through collaboration and skill sharing, as illustrated by Cicada Press’s engagement with the community of Papunya (an aboriginal settlement of about 350 people, known as the birthplace of the Western Desert art movement which emerged in the early 1970s).

The partnership between Cicada Press and the indigenous-owned Papunya Tjupi Arts Centre has ushered the inclusion of a new form of printmaking into Papunya’s art history. Mutchler and Urban – whose exhibition ‘Babel’ at the Wandesford Quay Gallery was launched on the symposium’s opening night – spoke about the particular condition of print and its essential ‘in-between-ness’. As described by Mutchler and Urban, printmaking’s ability to move between art and design, craft and industry, as well as lowbrow and high culture, make it a uniquely rich medium for aesthetic and conceptual enquiry.

In direct conversation with history and technology, printmaking has the unique ability to move fluidly between gallery, industry and public space. Indeed, printmaking was extensively showcased around Cork city in the run-up to the symposium, with a comprehensive programme of exhibitions. Contributors included: Jason Urban and Leslie Mutchler at CIT Wandesford Quay Gallery; Michael Kempson at the Triskel Arts Centre; Tom Martens in the Atrium of Cork City Hall; and Andrew Folan in the foyer of the Lewis Glucksman Gallery. A boxset of prints, entitled Ballot, by staff, alumni and students from Norwich University of the Arts and CIT was exhibited at CCAD. A showcase of members’ work, ‘Here & Now’, was displayed in the Etching Room at Cork Printmakers, while in the Print Showroom, ‘D.P.I.’ presented work from print workshops in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This was topped off with the particularly exciting ‘Zine Hotspot’ in Waterstones bookshop on Patrick Street, curated by Killian O’ Dwyer.

If, as Mutchler and Urban argued, printmaking is fundamentally about sharing information, then the ‘FIRST EDITION Print Symposium’ was a vibrant and celebratory expression of this process. In order for contemporary printmaking to consolidate and secure its reputation, it was suggested that the development of a critical language is necessary to communicate the medium’s ongoing relevance and impact. Already, connections made at the symposium have begun to bear fruit. Most notably, Cork Printmakers has initiated, along with the community of print workshops in Ireland, the ‘National Network of Printmakers’ – an all-Ireland information sharing and support project. The success of the symposium is testament to the confidence and ambition of Cork Printmakers, as well as a demonstration of the vibrancy of contemporary printmaking, both in Ireland and internationally.

Sarah Kelleher is a PhD candidate based in UCC’s History of Art department. Her research is supported by IRCHSS.

18

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

RESIDENCY commons. It felt like I had found a home for my work and I was looking forward to my return visit.

Installation view, John Duignan ‘PUBLIC SCHOOL’, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, 2017; photography courtesy of Tom Van Eynde and Hyde Park Centre

Work in Common SEOIDÍN O’SULLIVAN REPORTS ON HER PARTICIPATION IN THE INAUGURAL CHICAGO – DUBLIN ARTIST RESIDENCY EXCHANGE. THIS year, an exciting socially-engaged artist residency opportunity was set up between Chicago and Dublin. The exchange was a partnership between the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and CREATE in Dublin, alongside Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) and Sweet Water Foundation (SWF) in Chicago. The residency offered me the opportunity to visit Chicago in June and September, to connect with local artists and to deepen my practice. The first trip was an orientation visit, hosted by HPAC, that coincided with a compelling exhibition by Chicago-based artist Jim Duignan, entitled ‘PUBLIC SCHOOL’. The second trip was an opportunity to connect with SWF and their director Emmanuel Pratt’s exhibition, ‘Radical (Re)Construction’ at the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art. It also offered the chance to be in the city during the 2017 Chicago Architectural Biennial and the EXPO Chicago art fair.

In recent years, I have developed a number of socially-engaged, collaborative projects that explore questions of land use, as well as the ecological and social commons. Chicago has a rich history of sociallyengaged practice, as evidenced through a recent series of four publications, edited by Mary Jane Jacob and Kate Zeller, titled ‘Chicago Social Practice History Series’. This series brings together essays, interviews and projects by artists, activists and cultural practitioners working in the field. The publications familiarised me with the city’s artists and infrastructure, while offering important historical context.

JUNE 2017 HPAC is an interesting and engaging art space that very much feels like a people’s art centre. It positions itself as “a unique resource that advances contemporary visual art in Chicago by connecting artists and communities in unexpected ways” (hydeparkart.org). Diverse audiences attend workshops, public talks and events in the centre, which houses a wood workshop, ceramic facility, digital media studios and printmaking space, as well as ten studio spaces (one of which is an international residency studio). I stayed in an apartment that HPAC provides for visiting artists. In addition, six gallery spaces promote “underrepresented artists, particularly Chicago-based artists of colour and women” whose work makes “meaningful contributions to today’s social and political discourse”. The staff, who were incredibly generous and accommodating, organised artists’ meetings, took me to openings and directed me towards projects and people that resonate with my practice.

SEPTEMBER 2017 For the second phase of the residency, the apartment I had previously stayed in at the Hyde Park Arts Center was hosting a residency exchange with an artist from Tel Aviv. I was invited to stay on the SWF Perry Avenue Farm, but my preference was to stay at an urban farm apartment on the southside of Chicago, located between SWF and Theaster Gates Currency Exchange Cafe (CEC). I did not feel safe staying in Perry Avenue on my own, as the SWF team leave the farm at 4pm every evening. Being based in this location, I could walk a block for a coffee and breakfast or cycle two blocks to plant, dig, eat and converse with the SWF team.

Theaster Gates describes himself as a ‘potter’ who previously worked in city planning before becoming one of Chicago’s most powerful and celebrated artists. He seems to know how to work the city and the system. Gates’s social projects include: Stony Island Arts Bank; Black Cinema House; the Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative (DA+HC); the Archive House; and the Listening House. Since 2011, he has been director of Arts and Public Life at the University of Chicago, where socially-engaged cultural practitioners study the complexities of class, race and urban life. In addition, Gates’s office is situated above the CEC in the Arts Incubator – a residency studio administered by the University of Chicago under the Arts and Public Life programme.

The welcoming café has a bar and library, with a clientele of young creatives and cultural workers. The menu comprises African American cuisine, celebrating contemporary Africanism and promoting positive identity and belonging. A ‘Black Lives Matter’ poster in the café proclaims: “We affirm our existence to not only live but to thrive in a world where our humanity is seen and honored. We are organizing to realize a world in which our faiths are held in esteem, our identities are respected and are families are prioritized. We deserve a world in which our children are protected, where our water is sacred and where we are given a fair chance to decide our fates #blacklivesmatter”.

Even though the CEC is on the same block as the SWF, Gates does not tend to collaborate with SWF director, Emmanuel Pratt. As African American cultural practitioners, Gates and Pratt appear to have adopted very different positions and economic models in relation to issues of regeneration, gentrification, land use and community access.

Pratt has just begun a one-year residency in the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art and I arrived just as his team were installing his exhibition ‘Radical (Re)Construction’. I spent a few days helping with the creation of a large-scale, architectural pencil drawing for the exhibition. The wall drawing incorporated a mock façade of a house, fabricated in salvaged timber, which represents a space that SWF are currently refurbishing across the road from the farm. This will eventually be an artist residency, library and collective organising space. The recently appointed director of the Smart Museum, Alison Gass (former director of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art), invited me to develop my Seating System as part of the exhibition, where it will provide a playful common space for pedagogical learning.

During my final weekend, I went to my first art fair, EXPO Chicago. There, Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz was in-conversation with Omar Kholeif (senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago), ahead of the launch of his exhibition, ‘Backstroke of the West’ at MCA. Rakowitz explores in the links between hospitality and hostility through projects like ‘Enemy Kitchen’, which involves food being prepared by Iraqi refugees and served to the public from a food truck by Iraqi war veterans. The Chicago-based artist claims that he always feels like a ‘bad guest’ and he wants to develop spaces for “fearless listening and fearless speaking”. It was a privilege to engage with some of Chicago’s most active social practice artists, who are carving out critical spaces and forging new directions for thinking and action. This experience allowed me to position my practice within a vibrant international scene. The diverse practices I encountered left me with lots of rich thinking that will no doubt fuel future development within my own work. Next year I have a year-long residency with Common Ground, Inchicore, Dublin, in their new building The Lodge, where, in the spirit of Rakowitz, I plan to be both ‘hospitable’ and ‘hostile’.

The exhibition, ‘PUBLIC SCHOOL’, by Jim Duignan was showing in HPAC while I was there. In 1995, Duignan established the Stockyard Institute as an arts and pedagogical initiative, with the aim of developing “collaborative, community-wide arts and education projects with youth, teachers, artists and residents deep inside Chicago communities” (stockyardinstitute.org). Duignan’s installation comprised a school bus, emptied of its seats and parked in the gallery, where it provided a social space for young people to hang out. A wall of dolls – made by school children to represent someone they knew, who had been a victim of gun violence – was shocking in its plentitude.

Meanwhile, from a table in the gallery, two DJs broadcast live to a community radio station, creating a welcoming atmosphere. The furniture had been fabricated from salvaged school gymnasium flooring. There has been a disinvestment in public schools in America in recent years, which has led to a lot of school closures. This has created surplus materials that several Chicagoan artists have recycled through their art practices.

SWF are a non-profit organisation that uses regenerative placemaking strategies, including urban agriculture, art and education, to transform vacant spaces and buildings around the city. I spent most of my time at the foundation getting to know the team and project by weeding, watering and helping in the kitchen. SWF have converted a once-abandoned house on the south side of Chicago into a communal living, meeting and education space. The Think Do House acts as an important locus and feels like a home, full of heart. It is held together

by Mama Betty, who provides daily meals to local young people escaping gun violence, poverty and family traumas. The predominantly African American neighbourhood surrounding the farm looks like an abandoned waste ground, yet just a five-minute cycle-ride away is the gentrified and prosperous Hyde Park region. SWF have just built a barn for community gathering and a residential space to create positive long-term regeneration within the neighbourhood.

SWF co-founder and director Emmanuel Pratt is always busy, but we did enjoy several in-depth conversations, one of which happened during a road trip to a barn-raising demonstration on a farm in the heart of ‘Trumpland’. Commenting on the social exclusion and marginalisation occurring within certain Chicago neighbourhoods, he stated: “After generations of disinvestment, these communities of color are buckling under the weight of a complicated and interconnected layering of crises: a failing economy; stratifying economic divides; collapsing infrastructure and urban decay; environmental degradation; seemingly perpetual cycles of increasingly violent crimes; epidemics of preventable chronic diseases; and ever-increasing food insecurity. The often-unspoken reality of this situation is that racism remains the root cause and an ongoing barrier to progress”.

During the second week of this trip, the SWF team recreated my ‘commoning’ infrastructure, Seating System (2012), which I designed with Karol O’Mahony. In its initial iteration, we published the design with a copyleft license, meaning that anyone can replicate the design as long as it is not used for financial gain and we are credited.

In this first phase of the residency, I was exposed to a whole constellation of art practitioners. I left with questions about the role of artists in relation to issues such as gentrification, land access and the Seoidín O’Sullivan is a socially-engaged artist based in Dublin.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

Critique Supplement Edition 34: November – December 2017

Installation view, Gallery 1, including work by Isobel Nolan and Fischli & Weiss; image courtesy of the artists and Butler Galley; photograph by Roland Paschhoff

Installation view, Gallery 2, including work by Nevan Lahart and Hannah Fitz; image courtesy of the artists, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery and Butler Galley; photograph by Roland Paschhoff

Still from Peter Fischli and David Weiss, The Way Things Go, 1987; film 16mm, color, sound, 30 min; Camera: Pio Corradi; copyright Peter Fischli, David Weiss, Zürich 2017; image courtesy Sprüth Magers, Matthew Marks Gallery, Galerie Eva Presenhuber

‘The Way Things Go: An Homage’ The Butler Gallery, 12 August – 15 October 2017 Aideen Barry, Hannah Fitz, Atsushi Kaga, Nevan Lahart, Maggie Madden, Jonathan Mayhew, Caroline McCarthy, Isabel Nolan and Liam O’Callaghan Maggie Madden uses materials of such delicacy and subtly they may almost not exist. They beg the viewer to closely inspect their form, such is their demand for exploration. In Madden’s work total internal reflection (2016), a simple loop of optical fibre and telephone wire resembles a lasso or even a noose. Deftly suggesting an unseen threat, it radiates a power at odds with its simplicity.

More well-known for their junky assemblages of salvaged materials, both Nevan Lahart and Liam O’Callaghan depart from their habitual approaches to present a large oil painting and a series of five c-type photographs respectively. Lahart’s sepiatoned monochromatic painting, Overpainted Underpaint, depicts a kind of nihilist teddy bear’s picnic: humans are dressed as pandas and tigers; a tree plays guitars, serenading a coterie of laughing cats; the severed head of W.B. Yeats is pumped with fluoridated water – and more. It’s a mysterious and compelling vignette, overloaded with cosmic allegory and stuffed with metaphysical symbolism.

O’Callaghan’s photographs, Designs for public monuments that won’t happen (dumb series), depict maquettes of structures made from an assortment of random materials including Jaffa cakes, timber blocks, cardboard packaging and plastic eggs. These tyres, ladders, pipes, oil-soaked rags and chains) is ad-hoc arrangements have been doused in viscous used to create a sequence of cause-and-effect actions. glossy paint and tantalisingly documented in lusShifting mechanical levers and hypnotic balancing cious colour.

Using words, quotes and textual fragments is a acts trigger sparks, fires and cycles of apparent perfamiliar trope in Johnathan Mayhew’s work. For this petual motion.

Though the work took three days to film, the exhibition, he presents aphoristic snatches of text resulting footage was meticulously edited to imply on a monitor, against a background of spoken word, a single take, and ever since, it has held up to exten- barely audible in this space with competing sounds sive scrutiny. For ‘The Way Things Go: An Homage’ from other artworks. Different Thoughts Various at the Butler Gallery, curator Anna Sullivan invited Evenings (2017) explores what Mayhew describes as nine artists to respond to this seminal work. Some the “points where quantum realities, physics, literamade new artworks, while others present existing ture and poetry might intersect”, and its simplicity pieces that illustrate relationships with the original is profoundly moving.

Referencing the meditative allure of The Way source material. Located in the basement of Kilkenny Castle, the gallery comprises a series of Things Go, Caroline McCarthy’s MANSIZE is a realinterconnected rooms – a spatial configuration that time video of tissues being removed one by one from a large tissue box. Meanwhile, Aideen Barry affords a gradual unfolding of artistic responses.

The gallery entrance is home to Come and enter employs her signature combination of drawing and the Void with me – an installation by Japanese artist animation to detail aspects of domestic drudgery.

Atsushi Kaga featuring comic book-style works Presented via mini-projectors, and so it goes (2017), painted across custom-built partition walls. The speaks to Fischli and Weiss’s industrial concerns chief protagonist is a bitter and confused bunny with the more quotidian realities of the exhausted (reminiscent of the nihilist rabbit featured in Matt homemaker.

This domestic response is echoed in two new Groening’s comic-strip Life in Hell). A disjointed narrative sees Kaga’s anthropomorphic rabbit interact- works by Hannah Fitz, Candelabra and Rose – syning with his friends, including a one-eyed cat, evok- thetic decorative objects made from PVA glue, ing the bittersweet machinations of the everyday. epoxy resin, paint, wire and paper. Rose is gleefully The installation is topped off with a series of glittery presented on the gallery floor as a sickly red puddle donkeys and cats, which act as castellation for the containing a long-stemmed rose surrounded by structure, while giving sculptural form to the artist’s shards of a broken vase. With such strong responses to The Way Things Go, the work is once again reafimaginary characters.

Inside the gallery, The Way Things Go is pre- firmed in its role as both instigator and enduring sented alongside two works by Isabelle Nolan. There reference point. Perhaps in another 30 years, it may will be time no longer is an exquisite cursive of red play this role anew. wool ‘cable’ in the corner of the room that loops through space, as if describing kinetic arcs. It brings to mind the hypnotic effect of a dancing cobra, poised in mid-air. An adjacent series of black and white photographs considers ‘provisory rug designs’, loosely configured on the floor using Anne Mullee is an art writer and curator of the blocks and wedges, illustrating the artist’s profound Courthouse Gallery and Studios in Ennistymon, County Clare. understanding of structure and form.

THIRTY years ago, Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss unveiled their influential work, The Way Things Go (1987) – a 30-minute 16mm video transfer film that documents the complex chain reactions of an ingenious Rube Goldberg-esque contraption built by the duo. The action takes place in a warehouse, where industrial detritus (including

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet CRITIQUE SUPPLEMENT

Kate Nolan ‘Lacuna: New perspectives on the border in Ireland’ Gallery of Photography, September 9 – October 22

November – December 2017

Pádraig Spillane ‘What Passes Between Us’ Sirius Arts Centre, 3 September – 15 October 2017

PÁDRAIG Spillane’s exhibition of new work, ‘What Passes Between Us’, is presented across two galleries at Sirius Arts Centre. Four upright, mild-steel, modular frames, approximately adult height, stand in the centre of the floor in each space. A single sheet of clear PVC is cast across the top of one of the frames, while several wall-mounted digital prints complete the presentation. Two specially-commissioned electronic and vocal sound pieces – composed by Simon O’Connor and sung by Michelle O’Rourke – are transmitted into the galleries from speakers situated on the floor.

The minimalist presentation suits these lightfilled spaces. In the centre gallery, four wall prints depict intense close-ups of the human palm, with the thumb and wrist areas merging. Titles for these Kate Nolan, Untitled, 2017, photographic print; image courtesy of the artist (detail) digital collages, including Palm Animator (2017) and THE result of the 2016 British referendum on the monochromatic projections animate the light Palm Merging (2017), seem appropriate. The images future of European Union membership has brought against swaying conifer tress. What coheres this are mirrored and repeated across a brown backabout a new era of social and political anxiety audiovisual installation to the other works in the ground, conjuring various grid formations. The regarding the border between the Republic and show, is a sound recording of an adolescent girl overall impression is that these compositions are Northern Ireland. ‘Brexit’ is a neologism that has describing her journey to the local chip shop. These highly controlled and provocatively sensual, whilst been mobilised by ultra-conservative politicians deceptively simple descriptions of mundane events also feeling slightly strange. There is a hint of someand sections of the British media alike, to portray are highly effective in conveying how ‘place’ is thing less than comfortable afoot, involving some what was in reality a marginal ‘yes vote’, as the enacted through the daily routine of traversing the sort of modification or restaging of bodily elements. inevitable political expression of the zeitgeist of border.

The display in the west gallery brings these The various artworks are interspersed with concerns to the fore. While the upright modular British isolationism and nationalism. On the island of Ireland, Brexit has resurrected the spectre of the wall-mounted textual inscriptions, drawn from sto- frames are duplicated from the last space, they are border which has haunted Irish politics for nearly a ries recounted by Pettigo inhabitants. While these more dispersed in this room, with the PVC sheeting century. Kate Nolan’s exhibition ‘Lacuna’ at the statements are not attributed to specific individuals, disturbed. Furthermore, two of the four wall prints Gallery of Photography explores everyday experi- their dispersal throughout the exhibition prompts here are more directly provocative. The digital colences of the border through the local inhabitants of the viewer to make connections between the photo- lage, Eyes Future Tense (2017), depicts a close-up of a Pettigo, a small town in County Donegal. This body graphic works and the community’s experience of pair of white staring eyes, while From Altered Light of work emerged in the midst of political specula- the border. However, the anxieties created through (2017) comprises an image of a solar eclipse paired tions about Brexit, including the potential harden- the possible imposition of a ‘hard border’ are not with a portrait of a lynx, whose white eyes also directly expressed in this exhibition. Instead, the beam outwards towards the viewer, as if caught in ing of the border between north and south.

Nolan’s recent body of work was not produced artist focuses on the mundane aspects of daily life, headlights. This provocative effect is accentuated by as a reaction to Brexit’s revival of the border as a evidenced in stories about the practicalities of inverting the purple-blue and white colours of the prospective geographical and ideological barrier; school bus journeys, visiting friends or relatives and images from positive to negative. There is a science rather ‘Lacuna’ emerged in the midst of the psycho- the delivery of take-away food. Combined with fiction feel to these assemblages. The mysterious logical ‘anxieties of place’, engendered by the shad- Nolan’s two large portraits of an adolescent girl and nature of the empty metal forms seems to evidence owy presence of Britain’s exit from the European boy, photographed against a densely wooded back- something agitated and recently departed from the Union on the not-so-distant future horizon. This drop, these textual descriptions convey the every- scene; something missing. It is reasonable to ask distinction is important because the cultural weight day ‘lifeworlds’ of communities – a subject that has why natural elements are depicted in this manner, of Brexit (and its pervasiveness in the discourse of increasingly permeated Irish photography over the in the midst of an otherwise open and enlightened European affairs) can obscure the more nuanced last decade. Such work has been characterised by presentation. experiences of border life explored in this exhibi- photographers engaging in ‘empathetic insideness’, The sound pieces that accompanying Spillane’s to borrow a term from Canadian human geographer visual works may provide clues. In Look, Stranger I tion.

Looking at Nolan’s exhibition solely through Edward Relph. In other words, these artists present a and II, Michelle O’Rourke’s voice is layered electhe prism of Brexit would limit the artist’s investiga- sustained ‘seeing into’ and appreciation of place as tronically to generate nostalgic feelings. They evoke tion of the everyday realities of border communi- lived experience. the gallery’s maritime setting, but also seem slightly The bodily disposition of Nolan’s two young eerie and unsettling. In searching for something ties. Importantly, place, border and geographic location are not abstract concepts; they are lived out subjects in these large-scale portraits, coupled with more complete, the voice is made to work hard but through the everyday experiences of the individuals the absence of formal codifications of portraiture, never sounds entirely satisfied. Perhaps it is this who dwell and labour in the interstitial spaces emphasises an awareness of how place and identity between the neat geographical borders that demar- are intertwined. However, it is the audio piece of the cate north from south and vice versa. Indeed, as the adolescent girl – who relays her knowledge, expericentenary of the 1921 partition of Ireland approach- ence and familiarity of her locality, through a habites, ‘Lacuna’ may become a precursor to wider inves- ual Friday night trip to the local chipper – that provides the most powerful evocation of place. On her tigations of other border locations.

The exhibition comprises several photograph- journey, landmarks are named, residents are identiic and audio-visual works including: two large-scale fied, history is recalled, and before the chipper colour portraits; photographs of landscapes and the comes into view, “the sweet sting of vinegar” awakbuilt environment, including detailed depictions of ens the young narrator to her position in the everyfauna and water; an audio recording of an adoles- day ‘lifeworld’ of this small border town. cent girl who describes a typical Friday night; and a three-screen audiovisual installation with an accompanying sound piece composed by Gavin Justin Careville is a lecturer in Historical and O’Brien. Nolan’s visually distinctive installation Theoretical Studies in Photography at the focuses on the shifting momentum of Termon River, Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Dún which divides the town and functions as the border Laoghaire, where he is also Programme Chair of between the Republic and Northern Ireland. Three the BA (Hons) Photography Programme.

Pádraig Spillane, From Altered Light, 2017, digital collage (detail)

audio element that forces viewers to look outside the space for further clues about the artist’s concerns.

Both galleries at Sirius Arts Centre look out onto the expansive lower Cork Harbour. The slag residue of the former Irish Steel works can be seen on the opposite shore, with sleek and modern pharmaceutical facilities visible further afield. Spillane grew up in the Cork locality and he brings his personal experiences of the harbour’s industrial legacy to bear in this exhibition. Spillane uses the gallery’s location as an opportunity to pose pertinent questions about technology and its impact on the body.

While we might consider the presence of global pharmaceutical companies in Cork Harbour to be a signifier of scientific advancement, Spillane seems to suggest that these progressive processes may in fact pose a threat to human experience. In extensively modifying the body, these companies aim to improve our lives, whilst also simultaneously undermining the integrity of the human condition.

Though not quite on the level of the ‘Anthropocene’, Spillane sees this evolving nature of the body, increasingly influenced by products and medical devices made in these factories, as raising questions about how we think of ourselves and what we are becoming. Notwithstanding the benefits that such products bring, Spillane also sees a parallel advancing state of artificiality and a loss of bodily integrity, not unrelated to the controlling narratives of these commercial and scientific interests. In discussing his work, Spillane referred to the #ACCELERATE MANIFESTO, which recognises the enslavement of technoscience to capitalist objectives and encourages an acceleration of capitalist processes, in order to ultimately bring about their failure.1 Spillane’s site-responsive interventions serve to focus our minds on this subject. While paying homage to the tropes of minimalism, he uses repetitive and clinical staging devices to point towards a less certain, post-human scenario of bodily modification, genetic mutation, even cloning. It may also be pertinent to mention the curatorial pairing with Dara McGrath’s photographic series ‘Project Cleansweep’ in the adjoining east gallery. It strikes me that there are numerous links that can be made between Spillane’s bodily inquires and the physical legacy of post-military and industrial contamination documented by McGrath.

Colm Desmond is an artist based in Dublin.

Note 1. Alex Williams and Nick Srnicek #ACCELERATE MANIFESTO for an Accelerationist Politics, Mexico: Gato Negro Ediciones, 2016.

November – December 2017

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet CRITIQUE SUPPLEMENT

Paul Mosse ‘What’s with the Apocalypse?’

VISUAL, 16 September – 12 January 2017 Pat Collins ‘Twilight’ VISUAL, 9 September – 28 January 2017

Pat Collins, Twilight, 2017; film still; image courtesy Ros Kavanagh

THIS season’s exhibitions at VISUAL have been programmed around the themes of landscape, nature and found materials. In the Digital Gallery on the first floor, is a screening of Pat Collins’s new moving image work, Twilight (2017). Filmed off the West Cork coast over a two-year period, Twilight is as vibrant as a living painting. The quality of light captured in the footage vividly portrays the pinks and oranges of a sunset, which gradually give way to midnight blue, as darkness encompasses the scene.

Voluminous grey clouds pick up speed and move ominously across the screen. To the left, the high moon oversees a purple-hued silhouette of a nearby headland.

Twilight is not a silent occurrence; rather the landscape in the late evening quietly hums, as people sleep and the world keeps turning. Collins has collaborated with the sound artist Chris Watson to create the film’s audio, which was developed through a series of field recordings. The soundtrack is not constant, but is interspersed with silent footage, in order to accentuate the noisier moments.

As the light seeps from the sky, a gull can be heard in the distance and a crescendo of birdsong escalates across the darkening landscape.

On VISUAL’s ground floor, Paul Mosse’s retrospective ‘What’s with the Apocalypse?’ occupies three galleries, bringing together an impressive selection of work, ranging from 1967 to the present. Mosse is probably best known for his use of non-traditional media and the creation of precariously-balanced sculptural pieces. Viewing his early work in the Studio Gallery, one can observe the artist’s progression from geometric colour drawings in the 1960s to layered and delicately sculpted work in recent years. His later work is typified with the centrepiece, UNTITLED (Pink) (2011), a chaotic, mixed media sculpture which appears in a state of dereliction or collapse, while also somehow managing to maintain a delicate equilibrium.

A tangible shift in style is evident in the intervening years, with Mosse’s artworks becoming more layered and textured, causing the artist to refer to them as “two-and-a-half dimensional painting”.

In Essex Garden (1985), for example, the use of car paint and the layering and cutting of paper, gives a topographic feel, highlighting the fact that landscape is a constant source of inspiration. In the Main Gallery, wall-mounted pieces are colourful and intricately-layered, while central, plinth-based sculptures loom large, echoing the texture of hedgerows.

Mosse builds complex surfaces from found materials and detritus that echo the chaos of the natural world. Pieces are allowed to decay organically – a process that prompts the viewer to contemplate human aging and mortality. In The Floor (2016), the artist used discarded materials that were literally scraped off his studio floor and mounted on a frame, which allows inspection of the anatomy of the work from both sides. Mosse is also influenced by Nkisi Nkondi – African idols used in tribal rituals that have pegs, blades and nails inserted into their surface. Mirroring the appearance of these ethnic artefacts, Mosse uses materials such as lint, grit, wooden skewers, nails and sawdust, mixed with glue and acrylic in his work.

To highlight the artist’s extensive use of unorthodox materials, VISUAL commissioned anthropologist Juliette Harvey to visit his studio and harvest a collection of items found there. The resulting work is ‘Materials Library’, a collection of intriguing items that functions almost as a museumstyle cabinet of curiosities. Displayed across trestle tables and minimalist shelving in the gallery, the collection comprises an unusual range of manmade and organic specimens: cobwebs are held together in a structural form by grit and leaves; deconstructed nails and lead shot are displayed in jars; examples of antique lace and taxidermy specimens are presented in glass cases.

Audiences have the opportunity to engage directly with some of these exhibits and touch is encouraged. Tours for visitors with visual impairments will also be delivered during the exhibition, along with the introduction of braille signage, so that they can experience the sensory qualities of the materials. A pertinent and accessible essay by Harvey accompanies the library and explains how Mosse wastes nothing in the artmaking process, as he engages with the “life and death of nature” on a daily basis. Over four decades, Mosse’s work has challenged audiences to think about the cyclical nature of decay and renewal, both in life and in art. Above all, this intriguing and sensory retrospective exhibition prompts reflection on the artist’s favourite material – time. It is therefore worthy of deep contemplation and multiple visits.

Erika Tyner is a visual artist and photographer working in County Wicklow.

Cliona Harmey ‘BEAUFORT (“about the weather”)’ Seán Molloy ‘Simulations’ David Quinn ‘White Line Series’ Solstice Arts Centre, 25 August – 13 October 2017 ON show at Solstice Arts Centre are three solo exhibitions by different artists, each with their own title and separate room. Free from a fixed or unifying theme, the exhibitions are loosely bound by a general sense of abstraction within the artists’ creative processes, along with some allusion to local history, heritage or landscape.

Upon entering the first space, David Quinn’s works appear minimalistic, with a series of nine intimately-sized pieces in muted colours. The strength in Quinn’s works emerges when we draw closer and discover the detail present. The works are built up of layers that variously comprise gesso, oil and paper, as well as off-cuts of plywood and perspex. The humble line takes centre stage, as Quinn records its journey across the surfaces, using an oil pencil or cutting tool. In Made, the incision in the perspex gradually deepens as the line moves left, until it flows seamlessly into a cut made in the plywood background layer. In the accompanying literature, we read that Quinn uses a ruler, yet the lines are at times imperfect, highlighting the impact of the artist’s hand or an uneven surface on even the most controlled of processes. The works jut out from the wall like raw sculptural extensions of the building’s structure, celebrating the inherent potential in the materials, uncovered by the artist’s touch.

Moving through to the next gallery space, we encounter Seán Molloy’s playful, yet finely executed, landscape paintings. While hinting at features within the local Meath landscape, these capriccioinspired works delve into fantasy, rather than being strictly representational. They draw from many sources including some of art history’s finest Dutch ‘Golden Age’ landscapes, architectural archives, as well as figures and topographical elements belonging to different times and places. All but one work is scattered with hyper-pigmented shapes and lines. These compositions reference certain features of modern digital image-making, including early video games and the pixilation occurring in lowresolution images. In Landscape with horseman II, we feel as if a flawless interface is beginning to crumble before our eyes, breaking the illusion of a view out onto a pastoral scene. Molloy’s paintings urge us to delve deeper than our first impressions to consider the many layers and components that make up an image. By overlaying historical imagery with contemporary features, Molloy evokes the evolution of image-making and how image manipulation has existed throughout the ages.

As we step into the third and final space, we are enveloped by the sound of water and wind. Cliona Harmey presents two archival audiovisual installations that explore the possibilities when nature and technology collide. In Seapoint 1.1, we

are invited to click on diary dates, presented on a screen, to view footage and hear the sounds of the sea on particular dates. Inspired by early communication technologies, Harmey transforms facts and figures into an accessible and engaging artwork. This project was originally created in 2002 in collaboration with artist Dennis McNulty. Each day, the sea’s condition was recorded from the same point and then classified by Harmey using a poetic adaptation of the Beaufort wind force scale.

Originally devised in 1805 by Navan man Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, the scale measures and categorises wind speed by gauging its effect on the sea’s surface. Harmey processed the recordings and McNulty resampled the audio using numbers from the compiled data, before recombining the audio and visuals. The result is an exchange between nature, man and technology, which transports us from gallery space to Dublin’s seashore.

Conceptually simpler than Seapoint 1.1, the video installation, Rain, also broadens our reading of a mundane natural occurrence as we view close-ups of raindrops drumming the surface of a body of water on a large screen. Hearing the audio through earphones allows us to immerse ourselves fully in the hypnotic imagery and sound. A point of interest is that the technologies originally used to make and store both of these projects are now almost obsolete, so the data needed to be reprocessed to work with the current exhibition display equipment. The projects create a sense of continuity between outmoded communication methods, while using up-to-date technologies that, no doubt, will also be relegated to history in the near future.

Sabina MacMahon, curator-in-residence at Solstice Arts Centre, has selected three extremely different artists and, by only linking them very loosely, has allowed common themes to naturally emerge. The overall sense gained from the three exhibitions is the need to reconsider how we view and interpret what lies before us. Through general processes of construction, reduction, disassembling and reassembling, the artists have each altered the ways in which seemingly familiar materials, images or elements in the natural world are perceived. They encourage us to consider the many layers in our daily reality, be it tangible physical layers, the subtle painterly or digital layers within everyday imagery, or the complex role played by technology in processing what we see. As such, we can enjoy the shows separately, based on their own merits, while also considering the myriad ways in which artists, and art practices, can explore similar ideas.

Roisin Russell is a photography studio manager and writer living in Dublin.

Cliona Harmey, Rain, 2002, video still (detail), standard DV video installation, duration 5 minutes 53 seconds

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Lunar Landscapes WICKLOW-BASED ARTIST MELISSA O’FAHERTY DISCUSSES THE FOCUS AND TRAJECTORY OF HER ART PRACTICE TO DATE.

Melissa O’Faherty, Celestial Kanagawa, charcoal on paper, 56 cm x 76cm

PRESENTLY, the main focus of my practice is drawing. I am continually attracted to the medium, as it engages and satisfies my curiosities. As well as freedom of expression, drawing also gives me the discipline to practice more formal and traditional skills. With this combination of overlapping approaches, my work has evolved into a semi-abstract style. I make large monochrome drawings and work predominantly in charcoal, because I enjoy the tonal range, velvety textures and intuitive mark-making that the material can produce. Through the immediacy of drawing, I can problem-solve and learn about new subject matter. I’m interested in finding a balance between abstraction and representation in my work. I like to explore how an artwork can simultaneously be delicate and fragile, as well as dramatic, responsive and forceful.

My visual and art historical influences are quite varied. I enjoy looking at Rembrandt’s printmaking, which rely on drawing techniques to communicate sensitivities and humour of his subjects, which is evident in his recordings of everyday life. In particular, I find Rembrandt’s drypoint etching The Three Crosses (1653) inspiring for its use of composition and sharp cross-hatching, as well as its dramatic handling of light and dark. I also admire the preparatory drawings of the sixteenth century Venetian master, Titian, with his style of dissolving form into ‘vibrations of light’ when using charcoal. My photographic influences include a series of cloud photographs called ‘Equivalents’ by American photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz (1864 – 1948). Stieglitz’s moody photographs seemed to capture his own emotional experience at the time, making them self-portraits in a way. I find the photographic experiments of the early1900s particularly interesting, where accidents and imperfections held suggestive pictorial qualities. For example, Spirit Photography conjured up images of the deceased, through the interpretation of ambiguous marks and shapes. I am interested in how these works invite the viewer to participate in an imaginative response, creating a two-way dialogue between artist and audience.

Last year I spent time at the wonderful artists’ retreat Cill Rialaig, in County Kerry and found this residency to be a very positive experience. It offered a unique opportunity to focus purely on my work in an inspiring setting at the edge of the world. I spent time walking, drawing outdoors and photographing the terrain, some of which is so rocky and barren, that it can appear almost lunar. There was time to reflect, research and write, all of which are valuable

Melissa O’Faherty, Nebula Dream Machine, charoal drawing,114 x 82 cm

elements of my creative practice. The residency also gave me the chance to meet up with other artists, which was enriching, because I usually work alone and found this interchange of ideas stimulating.

Earlier this year, I took up a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie centre, a beautiful secluded artist residential workplace in Monaghan. I valued my time working there without distractions and enjoyed exchanges with other practitioners who work in various artforms. I was lucky to have a spacious open-plan studio where I could roll out large lengths of paper and work on a bigger scale.

My first solo exhibition, ‘Drawings’, was presented at Signal Arts Centre, Bray, in 2016. This exhibition comprised a collection of drawings exploring birds as historic metaphors for peace and eternal life. The making of the work was inspired by the accidental find of two deceased birds. In order to observe and better understand the subject matter, I made a series of photographs and drawings. This work evolved alongside the long illness and passing of my late father, Al O’Donnell, who was an artist and folk musician. He had a hugely positive influence on me growing up, introducing me to the world of art. The themes of transcendence, spirituality and the transience of life resonated deeply with me during this time. The physical act of making the work over a year-long period became almost ritualistic and meditative. The processes of lighting a candle, blackening charcoal and burnt cork and layering paper surfaces were all-consuming and engaging. This experience led me to pursue ongoing themes within my work, which contrast the vulnerabilities and survival instincts found within the natural world.

My most recent exhibition, ‘The Spaces of the Imagination’, was presented at Mermaid Arts Centre, Wicklow, from May to June 2017.

The concept for this show was sparked by increased media coverage surrounding space exploration and the search for new worlds suitable for human habitation. With current threats to our own planet – not least political instability, global warming and impending threat of nuclear war – there is a sense of urgency about space travel that has not been felt since the Space Race during the Cold War. As an artist, I felt there was huge scope to develop a project that would use exploratory drawing methods to imagine what these undiscovered territories might look like. Keeping in mind the pioneering spirit of past explorers – as well as the drive of human curiosity that forced them to overcome adversary – my drawings became a way of visualising unknown, barren, yet strangely beautiful landscapes. It

was my intention to bring the audience on this imaginary journey. As part of my research, I became very interested in the historic tensions between art and science, focusing on the early nineteenth century, when artists and scientists seemed to work more closely together within a community of interchange and understanding.

For ‘The Spaces of Imagination’, I developed a new presentation strategy, which involved photographing a series of large-scale charcoal drawings and displaying them as paper hangings that appeared to float in the gallery setting. By using this display method, I wanted to draw the viewer in, so that they could closely examine the microbiology of my imagined terrain. I also discovered that an interesting slippage occurred, between the drawing and photographic mediums, which prompted reflection on how imagery is presented and perceived.

Using this approach, the drawings seemed to transform into threedimensional landscapes, situating the viewer within them, while also creating an atmosphere of distance. As part of the exhibition programme, I delivered an artist’s talk. During my presentation, I shared documentation of my drawing notebook, which shows the groundwork, experimental mark-making and thought processes that underpin my finished pieces. In addition, the artist Gary Coyle was commissioned to write a critical text about drawing to accompany the exhibition. Working with the professional and supportive team at Mermaid Arts Centre was a great experience for me.

As part of my drawing practice, I regularly attend life drawing and artists’ masterclasses at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin.

This has proved to be an excellent resource in terms of sharpening my observation and drawing skills, thus enhancing all other aspects of my practice. I have recently begun to make new work that explores humanity in medicine and science through studying human anatomy and specimens. Last year, I took part in a contemporary drawing peer discussion hosted by VAI. The participating artists have since reconnected and we are currently discussing possible new collaborative projects. I’ve found that such conversations and exchanges with other artists can be inspiring and motivating. As I continue to develop as an artist, I hope to take up other residencies and collaborations, stay open to new experiences, learn new skills and try to remain fearless along the way.

Melissa O’Faherty is a visual artist based in County Wicklow. melissaofaherty.com

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

VAI EVENT

‘Sustaining Your Practice’ panel discussion; L – R: Geraline O’Reilly, Susan MacWilliam, Nick Miller, Mary A. Kelly

Get Together 2017 JOANNE LAWS AND CHRISTOPHER STEENSON REPORT ON THE VISUAL ARTISTS IRELAND GET TOGETHER 2017.

‘Culture in the Community’ panel discussion; chair Jo Mangan (in focus)

Gerry Gleeson during his ‘Artists Speak’ presentation

Michaële Cutaya (L) in conversation with Lívia Paldi (R) during their ‘AICA Art Writing Focus’ talk

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

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VAI EVENT the community, they need to participate in local authority meetings and engage with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

ARTISTS SPEAK ‘Artists Speak’ offered a forum for artists to talk about their own work in 15-minute segments. These sessions occurred in the morning and afternoon in the Chapel, with talks from Diana Copperwhite, Jaki Irvine, Justyna Kielbowicz, Brian Maguire, Gerry Gleason, Mark O’Kelly, Niamh McCann and Emma Haugh. Highlights included Maguire talking about his recent trip to Syria, where he conducted research for his ‘Aleppo’ painting series. Emma Haugh’s presentation also proved captivating when it diverged into a spoken word performance.

CLINICS Building on the popularity of this event in previous years, clinics were delivered by various arts specialists, offering one-to-one sessions and advice on a range of creative and practical topics including: Collaborative Practice; Careers & Proposals; Portfolio Review; PR & Social Media; PRSI & Pension Entitlements; Legal & Copyright Advice; Ole Reitov (Executive Director of Freemuse) engaging with the audience during the ‘Artistic Freedom’ keynote and Tax & Financial Advice.

THE sixth Visual Artists Ireland Get Together took place on the 15 Geraldine O’Reilly, Susan MacWilliam and Nick Miller, discussed how Reflecting on the ‘Creative Clinic’ session, Matt Packer commented September 2017 at Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin. As they have persevered as artists throughout their careers and have that: “one issue that kept cropping up is the ‘strategy of access’ to Ireland’s national day for artists, this important annual event offers “kept going”, despite the barriers they may have faced. All three artists exhibiting work in more prestigious arts institutions, both in Ireland opportunities for practicing artists to meet, share ideas and form new agreed that it is important to tackle challenges head on and to use and internationally”. He thinks it’s important to encourage an relationships. The day comprised a series of panel discussions and them as opportunities for making art. Miller noted that over many understanding that “art institutions are not phantom powers” and are artist talks in IMMA’s Baroque Chapel, while one-to-one ‘Creative years, one cultivates a resilience and ability to get past dead ends. “typically driven by a handful of individuals who often have specific Perhaps the bleakest realisation arising from this discussion motivations or areas of artistic interest”. He believes that “artists can Clinics’ and ‘Practical Clinics’, and ever-frenetic ‘Speed Curating’ sessions took place in the Johnson Suite and Drawing Room. came when Kelly asked how the panelists survive financially. The do more to research the kinds of curators and institutions that share a Throughout the day, the Great Hall hosted The Visual Artists’ Café, artists responded that, because of the lack of a commercial art market similar space of artistic enquiry, while curators and institutions could which consisted of stalls from arts organisations, galleries and funding in Ireland, it is impossible for them to survive solely by selling their do more to let them be known”. Packer also noted that he also saw “a bodies. The Lecture Room also hosted ‘AICA Art Writing Focus’ talks work. They each require other sources of income to sustain their lot of good work that is undermined by overcooked artist statements”, practice. MacWilliam’s and O’Reilly’s main income comes from frequently reflecting the “remote” and “institutionally-sanctioned and a screening of Erik Bünger’s film The Third Man (2010). teaching. Other sources seen as valuable are Arts Council grants. At a vocabularies of artistic description”. It is the “shared responsibility of certain point, Miller made the pragmatic decision to turn down jobs artists and institutions” to change this approach and to identify a more KEYNOTE: ARTISTIC FREEDOM The cofounders of Freemuse, Marie Korpe (former Executive Director) that would not teach him something about painting. He engages in fitting language that is “responsive to artistic practice itself.” and Ole Reitov (Executive Director), delivered the conference keynote. community projects as a way of expanding his skill set, whilst also Freemuse is an independent member-based organisation that aims to receiving a source of income.

AICA ART WRITING FOCUS Overall, the discussion provided fantastic insights into how three The International Association of Art Critics – Ireland (AICA Ireland) document and protect against artistic censorship internationally.

With microphones in hand, Korpe and Reitov made an unconventional successful artists maintain their practices against the odds. One harsh organised two in-conversation events between AICA members and start to the talk by walking amongst the audience (without a formal lesson to take away is that it’s tough being an artist, even when you’re invited guest speakers. Visual Artists’ News Sheet Features Editor introduction) asking questions, such as: “Why is artistic freedom at the top of your game.

Joanne Laws spoke to Sue Rainsford (winner of the VAI/DCC Critical important?” and “Have you ever been censored?”

Moving to the stage, the speakers introduced themselves and gave their definition of artistic freedom (co-developed with the United Nations Human Rights Council) which includes two main criteria: the artistic producer has the right to imagine, create and distribute freely; and the citizen has the right to access culture and enjoy artworks without fear of hindrance or interference. According to the speakers, there are thousands of violations of artistic freedom reported worldwide each year. With the rise of social media, online censorship and anonymous intimidation against artists has become more prominent – especially among feminist artists.

In the second half of the talk, Reitov once again walked amongst the audience to generate discussion on how artists, in Ireland particularly, may experience censorship. One prominent theme was the power that funding bodies have over artistic expression. Artists noted that when applying for grants, they often self-censor their views in order to satisfy funding guidelines. This was deemed necessary because of the conservative views of local authorities and their dislike of institutional criticism. Similarly, artists conceded that they sometimes “censor the content or themes of their work”, so as to appeal to arts centres with a “family friendly ethos”. Audience member Deirdre Robb also commented that, for artists in Northern Ireland, work is sometimes censored on the grounds of perceived political divisiveness. However, it was also noted that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland “embraces” such work, rather than silencing it.

Ireland’s contentious blasphemy law was also raised as a source of censorship on the island.

SUSTAINING YOUR PRACTICE The panel discussion on ‘Sustaining Your Practice’ was chaired by Mary Kelly (VAI Board of Directors) and proved to be one of the highlights of the day. Three of Ireland’s most renowned visual artists,

CULTURE IN EVERY COMMUNITY Chairing the panel discussion ‘Culture in Every Community’, Jo Mangan (Chair, National Campaign for the Arts) began by opening questions to the floor, so that the audience could guide the unfolding discussion. The audience’s wide-ranging queries included how artists can influence culture and community initiatives, and how research on culture in the community can be made more accessible.

The first panelist to tackle these questions was Sligo-based artist Kiera O’Toole who worked on Creative Ireland (CI) – the nationwide initiative for introducing culture into the community. She claimed that if initiatives like CI are to work, artists need to be placed on an equal footing with researchers and audiences. She also noted that there is a general skepticism and lack of knowledge about CI among many artists. O’Toole suggested that people in the arts need to meet policy makers halfway, in order to influence the process. Reflecting on the discussion afterwards, O’Toole noted that one of the main issues artists have with the CI programme, is a “lack of tangible opportunities being offered so far (such as residencies, grants, bursaries and commissions), with some counties lagging far behind others”.

Tracy Geraghty (Programme Development and EU Dimension, Galway 2020) also raised issue with usage of the terms “culture” and “community”. The definitions of each – as defined by organisations such as UNESCO – are extremely broad. Without clear definitions in place, Geraghty feels that it can be difficult for communities to appreciate the value of the arts.

Belinda Quirke (CEO, Solstice Arts Centre), who is part of the CI team in Meath, suggested there needs to be a better archive of successful public art projects. She also spoke about engaging with local authorities in order to influence community arts projects. This sentiment was supported across the panel. The take-home message was that if artists want to influence how culture is introduced within

Writing Award 2017) about her research and writing practice.

Rainsford spoke about several previous publishing projects, including her novel Follows to Ground (2013) and her limited-edition publication some mark made (2016) – a self-funded anthology of experimental writing. She also discussed her experience of developing text-based collaborations with artists, including a word-based sound installation for Alan James Burns’s project ‘Entirely hollow aside from the dark’ and a script for Bridget O’Gorman’s moving image work, The Flesh (Re-enacted) (2015). The conversation concluded with mention of Rainsford’s current collaborative research project with O’Gorman, as part of the Freud Project Residency at IMMA. Arts writer and Circa editor Michaële Cutaya spoke with Lívia Páldi about her new role as Curator of Visual Arts at Project Arts Centre, Dublin. Cutaya reflected on critical writing discourse as a mutating field that is increasingly being taken up by curators. Páldi discussed her previous role as chief curator at the Mucsarnok/ Kunsthalle, Budapest, and the country’s shift towards right-wing populism that became so problematic for culture. Regarding her recent relocation to Ireland, Páldi remarked: “I have never lived in a post-colonial country – that hit me quite hard.” She noted that a new set of dates became important, with Ireland’s ongoing decade of centenaries (2012 – 2023) offering a highly-charged context for artistic practice. Paldi’s curatorial approach for Project will continue to focus on archival and museological research, across future exhibitions and offsite projects.

Joanne Laws and Christopher Steenson are the editors of the Visual Artists’ News Sheet.

Note VAI would like to thank the IMMA team and our Get Together Assistants for all their help, as well as all the participants and attendees who made the day truly enjoyable. We are also grateful to our sponsors: Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Dublin City Council, British Council, IAA, Standard Utilities, Suki Tea. Each year we fine-tune the Get Together events based on your feedback.

Please let us know how you got on, so we can continue to improve the event and tailor it to the needs and interests of artists and arts workers. See you next year!

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

PROJECT PROFILE

Sue Morris, ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’, installation view, Nazareth House, Derry

Coded Perception REBECCA STRAIN INTERVIEWS SUE MORRIS ABOUT HER SITE-RESPONSIVE INSTALLATION, ‘THE UNFAMILIAR FAMILIAR’, IN NAZARETH HOUSE, DERRY/LONDONDERRY.

Sue Morris, ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’, installation view, Nazareth House, Derry

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

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PROJECT PROFILE the new. I often found myself going backwards to move forwards around the building. I attempted to draw up some floor plans. This self-imposed map-making, along with photographic documentation, began to reveal rooms and spaces where I wanted to make and install work. I think it is also significant that I have been working there alone.

It allows for a heightened intimacy with the space: nowhere is off limits.

RS: Printmaking techniques feature heavily in this work, as they do across your wider practice, but here there is a shift away from analogue methods. What was the motivation behind introducing digital printing technology?

SM: I was thinking about repetition. Also running through the work is an exploitation of transparent, opaque and reflective materials. I’m lucky to have a FabLab nearby, at Derry’s Nerve Centre. This allowed me to access laser-etching equipment to produce a series of etched panels on mirrored and transparent acrylic sheets. It opened up the kind of images that I might use and the surfaces I could etch on. The resulting plates were the finished artworks, rather than a matrix to print from.

RS: I noticed a lack of text in the show, except for the installation in the linen closet that used text in situ. Did the geometric structures in this work relate to text or language in some way?

SM: Signage and labelling is interesting in terms of dementia. It can be used as a coping strategy; as a visual reminder of where and what things are. In Nazareth House, I came across a lot of labelling – vests, pants, nighties and in one cupboard, gentlemen’s sheets! In the closet you refer to, I paired pre-existing labels for facecloths, towels and sheets, with white, linear, geometric structures, creating a dislocated reconstruction of folded linen. These structures (which evolved from the Sierpinski tetrahedra mentioned earlier) weave throughout the rooms in different states and guises. In that way, they are a kind of code for what follows.

Sue Morris, ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’, installation view, Nazareth House, Derry

ACCORDING to the Alzheimer’s Society, 850,000 people in the UK suffer from dementia, a disease with far-reaching social and economic impacts, yet one that is little understood among the general public.

Visual artist Sue Morris’s multimedia installation, ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’, explored how dementia affects the individual and how it can render the familiar as threatening and unsettling. Working in Nazareth House – a care home in Derry that was vacated in 2013 – the artist used materials found on site, as well as digital fabrication techniques, to create an immersive experience that challenged the viewer’s visual perceptions.

Rebecca Strain: Can you tell me about the origins of your recent artwork, ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’?

Sue Morris: I attended a residential at Void, Derry, back in April 2016, after applying to an open-call from the Dementia Services Development Trust (DSDT) based in Stirling, Scotland. The weekend residential brought together a poet, composer, filmmaker, theatre practitioner, photographer and visual artists like myself from the UK and beyond. We were interested in making work that could challenge assumptions and raise public understanding of dementia. I was attracted to the programme because it chimed with preoccupations that run through much of my work, allowing me to explore historical and personal narratives connected to the real and the unreal, the known and the unknown. I also have an interest in mental illness and how change and damage to the brain can affect how we perceive everyday situations. I find ideas of alternative realities quite compelling. Funding from the Arts Council Northern Ireland then enabled me to develop the work further.

RS: What is immediately striking about your work, are the atmospheres you create that often confront the viewer with quiet, yet unsettling, propositions. Can you offer insights into your research interests and working methods?

SM: I have never been afraid of confronting emotional content headon and I tend to work across different media in an intuitive, organic way. My selection and use of materials is an intrinsic part of feeling my way around a subject matter. I’m drawn to the mundane and ordinary,

RS: There was always a possibility that this work would not be seen by anyone except you. When it became possible to open the Sue Morris, ‘The Unfamiliar Familiar’, installation view, Nazareth House, Derry doors, did you have any personal doubts or were you completely but by changing certain elements – such as scale, context or placement committed to audiences engaging with this work?

– particular objects and materials can become incongruent and SM: I was always aware that there was an inherent risk of the work not disruptive at a psychological level. The use of light to project startling being seen by anyone except the security men and occasional surveyors who had cause to enter the building! However, my intention shadows became particularly significant in this work. was always to find ways of getting the public in, to experience the RS: The installation was presented across the Nazareth House installation directly. After some discussion, Choice Housing agreed to my opening Nazareth House to the public on Culture Night (22 building. Why did you select this particular site for the work?

SM: Initially, I began making work at home. I was interested in September), with the proviso that I insured, organised and managed building structures that would disrupt space. At that time, I was the event myself. Additional funding for the event was provided by the looking at networks and systems and became interested in Sierpinski DSDT. Moving work into the public realm always comes with anxiety tetrahedra – three-dimensional fractal structures constructed from about how the work will be received, especially given the sensitive triangles. These structures seemed to conjure associations with nerve nature of the subject matter I was exploring. cells, as well as patterns of thought, behaviour and speech. By placing these structures in everyday spaces – such as stairwells, bathrooms RS: There was an overwhelming turnout for the event, and both and wardrobes – there was a strange unsettling; a disconnect between the site and the subject matter seemed to strike a chord with these quite formal, mathematical structures and their domestic visitors. However, it was only accessible for a few hours, with setting. As the work expanded, it became clear that I needed a larger, groups of visitors being taken around the various rooms by alternative space, but I consciously avoided white cube or warehouse- guides. How do you think this viewing method impacted the type spaces. Nazareth House in Derry operated for over 120 years as a audience experience? care home for the elderly before finally closing its doors in 2013. I pass SM: The turnout was extraordinary – over 200 people within three the building several times a week and became intrigued by it. The hours. It really drove home to me how site-specific work can become building has a fascinating mix of the domestic and the institutional. It a potent force, when it reaches out to community. The audience was immediately felt like the right setting for the kind of work I wanted to very diverse. Many had previously worked in Nazareth House or had make. After a meeting with the Choice Housing association, who visited friends and relatives in the care home. Stories were exchanged recently purchased Nazareth House, they agreed to my working there and experiences with dementia were disclosed. There was a sense of in the interim period before redevelopment. The building has been a openness and engagement with the installation that I don’t think would have happened in a gallery setting. significant driving force in the development of the work.

RS: You used the building as your studio for almost a year and you know every nook and cranny. How did you decide which spaces you would use to install specific artworks?

SM: I don’t see the building as a studio; rather it is an intrinsic part of the work. I spent the first couple of months trying to navigate and document the building, which is spread over four floors and has had several new extensions over the years. These additional wings, corridors and staircases seemed to defy logic. There was a disconnect between different areas and levels of the building; between the old and

RS: Is this the end of the work or are you taking it further?

SM: Alongside the installation, I have been working on a four-channel video, Doing, Redoing, Undoing, which documents the experience of the building from the perspective of a fictional resident. This is scheduled to be shown at the 16:9 Gallery, Lawrence University, Michigan, in spring 2018.

Rebecca Strain is a Donegal-based artist.

Sue Morris is a Derry-based artist. suemorris.ie

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

ARTIST PUBLISHING

Documentation from The Domestic Godless in Athens, ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’, Athens Biennale, 2017; photograph by Linda Curtin

Eating: Their Own Words STEPHEN BRANDES DISCUSSES THE FOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY – A NEW PUBLICATION BY THE DOMESTIC GODLESS.

The Domestic Godless, excerpt from The food, the bad & the ugly (2017)

November – December 2017

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

29

ARTIST PUBLISHING

The Domestic Godless at O’Herlihy’s, Kinsale Arts Festival, 2015; image courtesy The Domestic Godless

THIS year, the gastronomic art collective the Domestic Godless celebrate 15 years of working together and exploring food – its taste, its appearance, its history and cultural values – as material for subversive experimentation. The occasion will be marked with a three-week-long residency at Crawford Art Gallery in Cork in November, and will be followed next year with a national tour to several arts centres around the country. Over those 15 years, we have repeatedly been asked questions relating to our research interests and practice, such as: “What exactly do you do?” (by those who don’t know what we do), “Are you the guys who do roadkill?” (from people who think we do roadkill, but are wrong) and “Would you ever think about making a book?” (from those who do know what we do and, thankfully, find it amusing). So, this year seemed an opportune time to finally make that book and to lay those questions to rest (while possibly igniting many more).

As artists, it was inevitable that we would approach this project as an artwork, in that we would shape the material at our disposal into something that willfully avoided easy categorisation. The food, the bad & the ugly is not a history, a biography, a work of fiction or a recipe book, yet it contains all of these elements. It is also conventionally a book, though its content is far from conventional. Aside from our own archival documentation, we have been lucky to include contributions from a food critic (writing under a pseudonym, for the sake of

protecting their professional reputation), a prominent writer on art who has considerable knowledge of cheese and a TV chef who has been dead for 20 years and whose additions to the book have been transcribed by séance.

Crucially, the book is self-designed and self-published. Work began in early 2017, as we accumulated the material, texts, recipes and images and learned InDesign from scratch. We were lucky to receive funding from Crawford Art Gallery and Cork City Council, which gave us the time to consolidate this material, to research fresh content and to design the book. Early on in the process, we needed to make practical decisions regarding the size and look of the publication and this was partly achieved by looking at examples of other books that we thought might work. We also had to consider working to a tight budget, which had not yet been raised.

Pricing the book became a balancing act. We decided on a figure for the number of pages we thought we would fill, the type of paper we wanted to use and the rough size – something that would comfortably fit in an envelope. We considered what might be a reasonable selling price and a sensible production run. We finally needed to consider the feasibility of the project, but optimistically assumed that if one third of the people who had befriended us on our Facebook page bought a book in advance, then we would achieve our target.

We then did a lot of research regarding printers to get several

quotes. We were aware of many printers whose reputation for value and professionalism are assured, but for us as novices it was essential that we found a printer that had the patience to deal with our lack of experience without becoming exasperated. From past experience, the English language – no matter how well it is deployed – has the potential to be misinterpreted, so we were very happy to find a local printer that we could talk to face-to-face. If any problems transpired, discussions and solutions could be arrived at after a short drive, as opposed to numerous emails or telephone calls. Eventually, I went to visit Watermans on Little Island in Cork, with a tasty Polish publication my colleagues had picked up in Gdansk as a reference. My confidence in the printer was significantly enhanced by him knowing exactly what type of paper had been used just by looking at it. He was able to advise on sensible solutions to adjust the size and format to fit our budget. With the composure and humility of a very good primary school teacher, he settled my mind-numbing anxieties.

The next stage was to raise the money. Crowdfunding seemed the obvious choice. We used Fundit, an Ireland-based crowdfunding platform run by Business to Arts, who offer meticulous planning advice for preparing a project and a step-by-step guide to creating a successful campaign. We set ourselves a time limit of 40 days to achieve our goal. Fundit works by offering rewards in return for financial support. In our case, we were offering advance sales of the book, with an invitation to the launch or free postage within the island of Ireland to those who couldn’t attend or collect the books themselves.

Most projects seeking funding offer several reward options in increasing increments. We decided to keep ours as simple as possible, not forgetting that the resources for delivering these rewards would need to be factored in to the overall target. The rewards consisted of one signed book for €25, two signed books for €50, two books with the funder’s name printed inside for €100. Our top reward to funders willing to pay above and beyond the price of the book was to offer an additional exclusive evening of tastings, a take-home goody bag and a specially procured bottle of sea-lettuce vodka. The eventual target not only included the printing costs, but also an educated estimate for postage and packing and funds to deliver our top reward (having set an available limit of twelve).

What followed was a crash-course in marketing. We built a short animated introductory video and embarked on a carpet-bombing campaign of social media with news and images from a project commissioned by the Athens Biennale team, to coincide with the arrival of Documenta in Greece. The Fundit campaign was subsequently launched immediately on our return.

As Fundit accurately predicted, the public response over the first two weeks was healthy – and then it tailed off worryingly. We were conscious that, if we failed to reach our target, it would mean the death of the project and any funders would have their lodgments returned.

So, with two weeks before our deadline, we embarked on a daily social media campaign. Being painfully aware of the desensitisation that repeated advertising can induce, we designed a completely new reminder every day, each one infused with humorous, but acutely visible, signs of panic and distress. And it worked. The book has since gone to press and will be launched at the Crawford Gallery on 4 November.

While the Domestic Godless pride ourselves on a measured but irreverent disregard for professionalism when it comes to our presentations with food, we played it fairly safe with the presentation of this book. In this instance, it seemed a step too far to either furnish it with an anarchic mélange of styles or over-design it with cleverness, when the content within already displays enough disregard for convention. We had considered using different papers – including edible rice starch or elements that could be scratched and sniffed – but in the end, we opted to publish something both accessible and feasible.

At the time of writing, The food, the bad & the ugly has not yet entered the public realm, so there may be some surprises yet to be found amongst the pages. Moreover, this book may not be our last…

The Domestic Godless was originally founded in 2003 by artists Stephen Brandes, Irene Murphy and Mick O’Shea under the Cork Artist’s Collective banner at the exhibition ‘Artists/Groups’ at Project Arts Centre, Dublin.

The Domestic Godless, excerpt from The food, the bad & the ugly (2017)

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

HOW IS IT MADE?

Crossing Divides ARTIST LOUISE MANIFOLD INTERVIEWS OCEANOGRAPHER DR CAROLINE CUSACK AS PART OF HER COLLABORATIVE RESIDENCY PROJECT ‘AERIALSPARKS!’ FOR GALWAY 2020, IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE MARINE INSTITUTE. research vessel is very different to what we are used to on land. For a start, you are constantly dealing with a side-to-side rocking motion, no matter how hard you try to stand still. If you suffer from severe motion sickness, this type of trip is perhaps not the best option.

LM: Both of my journeys dramatically changed my awareness of the ocean. Did you feel differently after your first survey?

CC: My maiden voyage was on a vessel called the Lough Beltra, quite a rocky vessel prone to pitch and roll, even in calm weather. I was exposed to a completely different perspective. Regardless of how you imagine the surface, when you get a chance to visualise what’s going on underneath, it’s a whole new dynamic, constantly in flux.

LM: In some ways, my project imagines the interior ocean as one of the last unknown territories, influenced by romantic eighteenth-century notions of the ocean as wild and uninhabitable. As a scientist, can you relate to these ideas?

CC: I think sometimes these ideas can get in the way of our relationship with the ocean. If you examine a drop of ocean water under a microscope, you will find it is often teeming with life, from viruses and bacteria, to tiny plants and animals. Even in the deepest parts of the ocean, at certain times of the year, life can be abundant. More than three quarters of our planet is covered by ocean, with vast regions yet to be discovered. Human pollution, such as chemical disposal, manmade garbage and the burning of fossil fuels, are changing the composition of our ocean and threatening its life-sustaining qualities.

Artists can open people’s eyes to such issues and inspire human curiosity in the ocean.

LM: What were the positive aspects and challenges of having an artist onboard?

CC: It was refreshing to have an artist on board who was open to a whole new world. Challenges were the same as with everyone else in the scientific party. I was concerned about the rough seas and hoped you would find your sea legs sooner rather than later.

Louise Manifold, A Series of Storms, Rockall Trough (2017) digital still (detail); image courtesy the artist.

‘AERIALSPARKS!’ grew out of an inconvenience. A delayed flight forced me to sit and write down an idea for a project that focused entirely on radio as an artistic medium. My aim was to commission international artists to make a series of standalone artworks for radio that would delve into the worlds of psychoacoustics, surrealism and invisibility. Drawing from previous projects, such as ‘Wild-Screen’ in 2015, I wanted the final outcome to take the form of a broadcasting event that would explore collective listening. I knew it needed to happen somewhere remote, like the middle of the ocean.

I brought my idea to Marilyn Gaughan Reddan, who is in charge of Programme Development and Legacy at Galway European Capital of Culture 2020. Marilyn instantly understood what I hoped to achieve and invited me to develop my proposed project as part of the Capital of Culture programme in collaboration with the Marine Institute.

Over several meetings with the Marine Institute staff, it was agreed that my project ‘AerialSparks!’ would be taken onboard the Celtic Explorer – the larger of two state-owned, multi-purpose research vessels run by the Marine Institute. From 2017 to 2020, I will work on various scientific expeditions, programming artistic projects to work with several research surveys.

I plan to select innovative artists from various disciplines including sound, literature and visual art. Selected artists must undertake a medical exam and a sea survival course. In order to understand the conditions that the artists will be expected to work in, I needed to experience an expedition firsthand. I was fortunate to secure an Arts Council of Ireland Project Award, which funded a pilot phase and enabled me to participate in two research surveys in 2017.

The first was an expedition to Rockall Trough and the second was a transatlantic journey from Galway to the Canadian Island, Newfoundland. The Rockall Trough Climate Section Survey is run annually by the Marine Institute. It takes place in the South Rockall

LM: Can art and science collaborations create greater visibility of science research? Or can artistic approaches offer scientists new ways to look at things?

CC: People in the arts can prompt discussion and attract public interest in powerful and often subtle ways. In the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to interact with artists and this has challenged me to think more about how I communicate the work we do as scientists.

Recently, we began discussions with partners of an EU-funded ‘Horizon 2020’ project called ‘AtlantOS’ about showing the impact and value of the Atlantic Ocean Observing System. Artists have the ability to make scientists view their own research differently. Taking on the ‘other Louise Manifold: You have just returned from a four-week view’ is important in advancing both disciplines. We need creative transatlantic survey. How can this kind of environment test you? partnerships to translate and explain what we do to the wider public.

Caroline Cusack: I really enjoyed the 2017 A02 GO-SHIP transatlantic survey. It was a month-long cruise that melted into what seemed like LM: What do you envisage will be the benefits of this particular only a fortnight. There was good harmony on the vessel, with 18 collaboration? Do you have any suggestions on how to develop it? scientists and 15 crew members. While we occupied the mid-Atlantic CC: Who knows? It’s an experiment. What happens next will depend ridge region, we were greeted every morning at about 6am by a pod of on many factors, such as the personalities involved, the weather and pilot whales, as we steamed across their migration route. The one the type of research that is undertaken. I welcome any activity that thing most people find hard while out at sea is missing their loved helps us to open our minds to new possibilities. ones. However, these days, we can keep in touch using smartphone Dr Caroline Cusack is an oceanographer at the Marine Institute, apps, such as WhatsApp. Galway. She is currently working on ‘AtlantOS’ – a large-scale research project funded through the European Commission’s LM: On the expeditions, I found one of the toughest things was ‘Horizon 2020’ programme. working whilst dealing with ship’s movement. How do you Louise Manifold is a visual artist working in film, sculpture and manage seasickness?

CC: I sometimes get seasickness in rough seas, but thankfully I usually text. Her multidisciplinary practice often produces unique, onceacclimatise within a couple of days. As an oceanographer, the weather off public experiences.

Trough, a major underwater canyon to the north west of Ireland.

Given the extremity of the weather and location, I was warned that the expedition was not for the fainthearted. Over seven days, I was introduced to the realities of ship life: huge waves and seasickness, as well as special moments like whale sightings. The Rockall Trough survey was led by marine biologist, Dr Caroline Cusack, one of hundreds of scientists around the Atlantic tasked with improving the existing Atlantic Ocean Observing System. I am delighted to continue my conversation with Caroline below, on the expectations and challenges of art-science collaborations.

at the time of a survey poses the biggest risk. Having a good sea state is critical to our work. Wave heights above six metres stall operations and the deployment of our scientific equipment. Living onboard a

‘AerialSparks!’ is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, Galway 2020 and the Marine Institute. aerialsparks.org

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

31

SEMINAR REPORT

Nato Thompson and Bouchira Khalili; all photographs by Vagabond Reviews

Nato Thompson, Curator, Creative Time Summit

Of Homelands and Revolution

LIBERTY Creative Time saw this year’s Toronto summit as a moment to call for transnational movements of solidarity, especially in the face of a perceived global shift to the right. Concluding the first day, presenters addressed: the politics and aesthetics of revolutionary praxis; the grammar of (neo)coloniality; and the possibilities for anti-capitalist organising, anti-racism solidarity and queer and trans liberation.

In a deeply moving testimony, using the device of storytelling, Kinana Issa bore witness to the state violence of the Syrian war and her experience of seeking asylum in Canada. Issa uses writing and art as a “form of loyalty to humanity” and has produced more than ten experimental audiovisual works. In her presentation, she set aside any formulaic accounts of her work as artist and writer. Instead, she told a story from Damascus, which began in 2011, tracing the fate of two of her friends who fell in love, were arrested by the Assad regime, and then made precarious attempts to maintain contact with one another inside the regime’s brutal and capricious prison system. The story has no happy ending but it unflinchingly illustrates the experiences of refugees of war and their encounters with a host nation. Her message was unequivocal: do not forget the stories of the missing, the disappeared and the dead.

CRITICAL CONNECTIONS Throughout the event, First Nations perspectives were woven into the critical coordinates of the summit. Canadian Aboriginal experience was registered as a form of witnessing; a form of symbolic reclaim, CIARAN SMYTH REPORTS FROM THE 2017 CREATIVE TIME SUMMIT, TORONTO. thematically underpinned by the land as both legal and spiritual THE tenth Creative Time Summit, titled ‘Of Homelands and beyond the cauterised memorials of state monumentality. She ground. A perhaps less well-known feature which emerged was the Revolution’, took place in Toronto, Canada, from 28 to 30 September. presented a video work that documents non-professional actors in removal of children from the reserves and their placement in a stateDevised as a “roving platform” for “thinkers, dreamers, and doers dialogue. Through photographic montage, they constructed a run residential schooling system. The practice endured up to the working at the intersection of art and politics”, this year’s summit was nuanced, sometimes contradictory, conversation about rebellion and 1990s, visiting a generation of violence upon communities while framed by perspectives from First Nations activists who are currently its key figures. In the second day’s workshop programme, we gained breaching the intergenerational handing down of knowledge. dealing with social justice issues pertaining to land use, displacement greater insights into Bouchra’s treatment of oral histories of emancipation in North Africa, via discussions about a process she calls NEWS FROM ISTANBUL and the Canadian residential schooling system.

In his introductory comments, Creative Time Artistic Director, “immaterial patrimony”.

Outside of the thematic strands that framed the Creative Time Nato Thompson, reiterated the territory of this year’s summit, at the Summit, a number of presentations also focused on the dynamics of intersection between art and politics. It was no surprise that, given the LABOUR art and activism in particular contexts around the world. Vasif Kortun current geopolitical climate (which spans the unsettling to the “Just as the people detained are without papers, so are the buildings without offered perspectives on cultural production in Turkey since 2004. catastrophic), any exploration of such intersections should hold up a photos or drawings, tucked away from public view. These buildings, too, are Kortun pursues interdisciplinary research across the fields and mirror to these global antagonisms. In that sense, Creative Time undocumented.” 2 institutions of contemporary art concerned with archival and spatial Toronto delivered on that premise by delving into the kinds of local practices. He spoke as an exile, one of many under the Erdugon regime, antagonisms usually only encountered at the anesthetised surface of Presenters in this section were asked to variously address “the who joined what he described as one of the “biggest culture drains in global news. On the first day, at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s conditions of urban and rural marginality, austerity politics, anti- the history of the state”. In considering the situation of the refugee, Koerner Hall, presentations were organised around four distinct capitalist organising, and emergent modes of assembling, solidarity Kortun proposed the notion of “refuging” – an active, agentic position themes: Land; Love & Living; Labour; and Liberty. and collectivity”. Tings Chak took up that invitation with great within a sort of “community of the displaced”. Refuging is a place precision and clarity. Chak is a Hong Kong-born and Toronto-raised where power relations don’t exist and are not reproduced between the multidisciplinary artist who trained in architecture. Her work draws benefactor and the host. The process entails learning from each other, LAND “We have 98% of the poverty and 2% of the land … But we are not in a space inspiration from migrant justice, as well as from international anti- creating new forms of solidarity and community, while “building the of dispossession, fundamentally, because the land is still here, it is still our capitalist and working-class struggles. Her graphic novel, Undocumented: new within the old”.

The Architecture of Migrant Detention, explores the role and ethics of teacher.” 1 architectural representation within the Prison Industrial Complex PRAXIS AND CAPITAL The Summit kicked off by imagining multiple material, social, (PIC). Despite the breath and scope of this complex, the sites, the “Within globalised capitalism, even as it gives funding to festivals, subalterns affective and spiritual relations to land, while addressing themes of buildings and the people detained therein are largely rendered are social groups on the fringes of history … Therefore, given that you and I are colonialist and capitalist accumulation-by-dispossession, invisible. The artist has deployed her design skills with great effect to equally caught in the bureaucratically quantified egalitarian Summit festivals foregrounding what the Creative Time curatorial platform calls illustrate how the discipline of architecture is implicated in the preaching to the choir, supported by corporate funding, and corporate political economy of incarceration. “indigenous land epistemologies”. universities … we are organic to the ideology that lets capitalist globalisation Post Commodity is an interdisciplinary art collective founded in survive.” 3 the southwestern United States to promote: “a generative discourse LOVE & LIVING that engages the social, political and economic processes that are This strand considered everyday practice as a space for resistance. In conclusion, the above quote from Professor Spivak’s keynote destabilising communities and geographies”. The collective’s Artists spoke about the generative power of the ‘ordinary’, illuminating address highlights the conditions of possibility for an event such as presentation focused on a two-mile-long land artwork, comprising 26 a radical ‘politics of care’. With an outstanding performative take on the Creative Time Summit in Toronto. She reminds us that we should large-scale balloons, which they suspended along the US-Mexico these themes, El Salvador-based contemporary artist Crack Rodriguez not make the mistake of assuming, within a collective atmosphere of border intersection as an ephemeral monument in 2015. During their blended video and spoken word to illustrate how he engages the radicality, that we somehow share a praxis that functions outside of highly considered presentation, it became apparent that this artwork public in his works, with the aim of creating a catalyst for social capital. It strikes me that the revolutionary challenge – to form new was as much to do with the negotiations on both sides of the border, as change. His practice includes performance, video, photography and modes of solidarity for social justice beyond the neoliberal frame – has it was about the installation itself. The art collective’s ethos was installation and focuses on the abuse of power within socially and never been more urgent. captured most precisely in their comment: “We’re not post-moderns ... economically disadvantaged populations. He has adopted a sort of we are Native Americans. We’re not revolutionaries … we are artists gonzo-Dadaist public practice, which has ranged from street-based trying to mediate complexity because it’s been our observation that collective demonstrations on how to fall off a desk, to aiming footballs societies in North America are polarising”. at police officers and organising group marches into the sea (with Ciaran Smyth is co-founder of Vagabond Reviews, a sociallyAlso presenting in the Land section was Moroccan artist Bouchra loudhailers blazing). While these interventions share elements of engaged art and research platform based in Dublin. vagabondreviews.org Khalili, who works with film, installation and printmaking. With a carnival, we must guess that, as forms of symbolic resistance to state strong emphasis on first-hand research, she assembles collages of violence, they may come with high stakes for the artist and his Notes 1. Wanda Nanibush, inaugural Curator of Canadian and Indigenous Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario. documentary histories. These are not alternative histories but are accomplices.

2. Tings Chak, a trained architect and multidisciplinary artist. intended as fragmented accounts of rebellion narratives, which go 3. Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Columbia University.

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

PROJECT PROFILE

Artist’s banners, L–R: Alice Maher, Rachel Fallon, Breda Mayock, Áine Phillips and Lisa Godson; photograph by Alison Laredo

Artist’s banner; photograph by Alison Laredo

Artist’s Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment at the sixth annual March for Choice, September 30 2017; photograph by Christian Kerskens

Artist’s Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment at the sixth annual March for Choice, September 30 2017; photograph by Christian Kerskens

Solemn and Bedazzling LISA GODSON EXAMINES ARTISTS’ BANNERS THROUGH A MATERIAL CULTURE LENS, SITUATING THEM WITHIN THE BROADER HISTORY OF SOCIAL PROTEST MOVEMENTS.

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

33

PROJECT PROFILE

Artist’s banner; Breda Mayock and Alice Maher; photograph by Alison Laredo

AMONG the placards, signs and posters held aloft at the sixth annual March for Choice in Dublin on September 30 were a set of remarkable banners created by artists Alice Maher, Rachel Fallon and Breda Mayock. As Fallon explains: “We had a meeting at the beginning of the year about what way the artists’ campaign could go, in terms of repealing the Eighth Amendment. It was important to do something that was ‘us’ and that spoke of our expertise in making things”.

Until the early twentieth century, processions with spectacular banners were a widespread feature of civic life. Their vibrant colours and narrative content provided visual excitement as well as exhortation, amidst all manner of social gatherings and events, whether convening for religious devotion, political rallying or as part of the annual cycle of commemorative occasions. The practice of formal banner display on the island of Ireland now tends to be the preserve of conservative, even reactionary organisations, such as the Orange Order, the Irish National Foresters, the Ancient Order of Hibernians and so on. In keeping with their archaism, these organisations each flaunt their own particular claim on the past. Their banners bear iconography that invokes tradition and asserts continuation. This is aimed at servicing a teleology, where some foundation myth continues to uphold and reinforce present-day political claims.

The banners of Maher, Fallon and Mayock likewise refer to the past, but in more oblique ways. Appropriating art historical tropes, as well as some of the conventions of formal banner design, the artists succeed in mobilising a new iconography that makes its own heroic claims, based on contemporary aspirations. The three full-size banners took approximately 6 months to make. Their fabrication was preceded by a phase of research, which examined the tradition of bannermaking and the appropriation of the banner format by contemporary artists.

As well as their broad collective knowledge about the history of visual culture, the artists were informed by research visits to the

Artist’s banner; photograph by Alison Laredo

Banner-making; Breda Mayock; photograph by Alison Laredo

Millmount Museum in Drogheda and to the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. The unique collection of banners at Millmount includes those made for nineteenth century guilds and trade unions, such as the Drogheda Labourers’ Society and the Irish Show and Leatherworkers’ Union. Inspired by these historic artefacts, the artists adapted decorative motifs for their banners and incorporated images of gallantry and the dignity of labour.

The first banner in the triptych involves a hieratic female figure with an outstretched cloak covered in embroidered eyes, in visual reference to the German Schutzmantelmadonna (Sheltering-cloak Madonna) or Madonna Misericordia (Virgin of Mercy), a recurring religious motif depicted, among many others, in a painting from the 1460s by Italian Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca. But rather than della Francesca’s gesture to protect the penitent and the prayerful, or the Irish confraternity banners that typically depicted insipid virgins of submission, this ‘Madonna of Repeal’ reveals the ‘Repeal the Eighth’ symbol on the lining of her cloak and as a clasp on her neck.

Maher explains that the eyes, used in a repeat pattern across the Madonna’s dress, function both as a symbol of protection and as a signifier of surveillance, suggesting that “we are watching you”. This denotes not just the singular Eye of Providence that sees all from everywhere, even from every dollar bill, but the watchful millions who observe the law-makers, the government and the oppressors.

The banner that most strongly invokes precedents, bears the figure of a leather-jacketed woman echoing the pose of the hero in Orazio Gentileschi’s Baroque masterpiece David and Goliath (c.16051608). The heroine wields a broad-sword against a snarling dragon covered in sequined number eight, with the legend ‘REPEAL NOW!’ emblazoned in a swag above her head. According to Maher, this was “the first image that came to us” and again, this banner is underpinned by art historical references. It recalls the chained Andromeda being saved by Perseus, for example in Rembrandt’s Andromeda Chained to the Rocks (1630), but “this is a reversal of that scenario; it is a reclamation

of women from art history, as well as from Ireland’s patriarchal history of church-state rule”. This piece also echoes in format one of the bestknown British trade union banners, that of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Workers Union of Great Britain and Ireland (c.1890) that depicts a muscled Hercules wrestling with a serpent in a ‘holy war’ against destitution, prostitution and exploitation.

The final and most intricate banner took its starting point from a more contemporary work: a silk scarf designed by the British artist Grayson Perry for London’s Tate Modern as an autobiographical, “social and cultural map to help aspiring artists navigate the hostile territory, on their way to being accepted by the establishment.”

This format was translated by the artists to reflect the story of women’s lives under the eighth amendment in Ireland, presenting a series of vignettes that include: a naked woman being pulled in two directions by a mitred bishop and a wigged judge; an unlocked treasure chest of pregnancy tests; a giant needle; a teddy bear; a wad of cash; the hand of justice weighing the unequal lives of a man and a woman; and a wheel of fortune denoting how, as described by Fallon, “access to reproductive rights is often a matter of luck”. In addition, traversing through the composition, is an endless line of women dragging suitcases, a reference to the thousands who go abroad every year to access abortion services.

As well as the central imagery, the artists drew on the decorative elements – including the scrolls, fringing, frogging and borders – that solemnified and bedazzled the nineteenth-century antecedents featuring in their research. It took a lot of labour. Fallon’s embroidery of the eyes alone (on the Madonna of Repeal) involved more than 100 hours of needlework. Much of the making was done via correspondence, with the silk, drawings and embellishments circulating between the three artists until they came together in Maher’s studio in Mayo in an atmosphere of “joyful creation” (as described by Maher).

In the history of public ritual, the central banner for each organisation was always accompanied by smaller ‘bannerettes’, often of more a playful design. This format was also adopted by the artists, who walked with a set of smaller silk banners created by Áine Phillips, each featuring a different eye and a letter spelling out R-E-P-E-A-L. Phillips’s banners were a further testimony to the ‘all-seeing eye’, a witness to both the dire effects of Ireland’s laws and the tens of thousands who take to the streets each year to protest against them.

If the history of women and textiles in Ireland can be dark and oppressive (overshadowed by institutions, laundries and work houses), then these artists have reclaimed a different version of history, setting their subversive stitches alongside those of the suffragette and Irish Women Workers Union banner-makers. For now, the artists’ banners are stored in Maher’s studio, ready to be unfurled and reactivated in upcoming protests, as we face into the referendum promised in 2018.

However, the banners’ future will ultimately lie in the National Irish Visual Art Library (NIVAL) in NCAD, alongside the drawings and documentation of their purposeful and happy invention.

Dr Lisa Godson is Co-Director of the MA in Design History and Material Culture at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She is also Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies, Trinity College Dublin.

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

PUBLIC ART

Pillow Stone from Regeneration, 2000; image courtesy of Stephen Rennicks

The Afterlife of Public Artworks STEPHEN RENNICKS ASSESSES TWO PUBLIC ARTWORKS COMMISSIONED AT THE START OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. HOW a plan is supposed to work out and how it actually transpires is something that artists know a lot about. There are a number of comprehensive guidelines for commissioning public artworks across Ireland which outline best practice at all stages of the process, such as how the public might be consulted and how artworks should be installed or maintained long-term. Such documents – including Policies and Strategies for Managing Public Art, by Dublin City Council’s Public Art Manager Ruairí Ó Cuív, and Public Art: Per Cent for Art Scheme, General National Guidelines (2004) – have proved useful in forming a framework for commissioning bodies and artists alike. However, what interests me most, is when unplanned things start to enter the picture.

Sometimes they can show up early in the process, but more often it’s long after the launch fanfare, when the management contract has run its course and when the personnel and even the sentiment surrounding an artwork may have dwindled. Outlining two examples of when theory did not follow practice, I want to investigate these cracks, inconsistencies and the unpredictable ‘afterlife’ of public artworks,

Patrica Doyle (with family) next to her donated tree from Jochen Gerz’s Amaptocare, 2003–14; image of Gerz studio; photograph by Breaking Ground, Ballynum. © Jochen Gerz, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2017

with the aim of identifying possible future recommendations.

Regeneration (2000) by Pauline O’Connell, Martina Coyle and Hilary Gilligan is a wild-park project situated on a 15-acre site at Knoxspark, Ballisodare, County Sligo. Now largely forgotten and somewhat neglected, it was originally commissioned as part of ‘Placing Art’ – a joint pilot programme of public art by Sligo County Council and Sligo Corporation – and funded by the Department of the Environment and Local Government, the National Roads Authority Per Cent for Art Scheme and the European Cohesion Fund. ‘Placing Art’ was a ground-breaking initiative at the time, designed in response to a 1997 report that criticised how public art had previously been implemented. In total, six small-scale commissions were developed under ‘Placing Art’.1 The pilot programme culminated in an international colloquium on public art at The Model, Sligo (6 – 7 December 2000), with high-profile guest speakers including Antony Gormley and Rebecca Solnit.

I stumbled on Regeneration 17 years later, when I pulled into a layby on the N4 and climbed a gate into what I had always believed was just a field of sheep and rushes. On entering, I was surprised to find a four-sided orientation stone which announces and illustrates the project. Not too far away, overlooking the Ballisodare River, I also found a beautifully carved stone bench. On a subsequent visit, I realised that I could cross under the road bridge to access the other half of the site, where another bench, orientation stone and an eight-tonne ‘pillow stone’ are placed alongside native trees that were planted during the project.

It was immediately clear that there are issues regarding accessibility, maintenance and promotion of what appears to be an underused, but potentially valuable, public amenity. I was told by Pauline O’Connell (one of the artists) and Mary McDonagh (Public Art Coordinator for ‘Placing Art’) that in the early stages of Regeneration, the local community were heavily involved through workshops, talks and school visits, as well as consultations with the local fishing club, and that the opening of the park was very well supported. Mary told me that she finds the current situation at Knoxspark quite frustrating.

There has never been any signage on the N4 and the park was not promoted since the launch. At the time, a 10-year management contract was put in place, however she feels it should be extended to 30 years for projects of this nature. Since the recession, no staffing or budget has been allocated for maintaining any of the county’s public artworks. While the land is currently leased to a farmer, the Knoxspark site is still owned by Sligo County Council and remains open to the

public, albeit in a limited fashion.

Another tree-planting public art project from a similar period is Amaptocare (2003) by Irish-based German artist Jochen Gerz.

Amaptocare (a map to care) is a major public artwork commissioned as part of the Ballymun Regeneration project ‘Breaking Ground’.

However, the project remains unfinished. Gerz invited Ballymun’s local residents, as well as the general public, to purchase a tree for the area. In 2003, I heard Gerz interviewed on the radio and such was his conviction, that I decided to donate €50 towards a tree. He held oneon-one meetings with well over 600 other people who had donated trees, taking statements from us about our aspirations for the area that would be printed on a plaque at the base of our tree. I was very impressed by the artist’s commitment. At the time, he explained to me that some of the trees had already been vandalised, but that they were being replaced at no additional cost to the donor. Even though outsiders were encouraged to donate trees, he wanted the community to pay for a percentage of them as well, to give them a vested interest in their locality and hopefully prevent or minimise further vandalism.

While the trees have continued to grow and flourish, other aspects of the project have yet to be completed. Gerz recently explained to me that: “The planting of the trees of the first 15 donors, the list of the names of the participants and the map with the locations of the contributions in the new Ballymun as part of the new City Plaza, are not done. The Amaptocare work is not completed. I still hesitate to write that the work is abandoned since the understanding with Dublin City Council, the commissioner, was that it was to be finished as a part of the ‘New Metro North’ project which has been repeatedly postponed.” Gerz remains optimistic that the work will one day be completed, but by now, this is a very long time coming.

Sean Lynch is another artist who has extensively examined the afterlife of public artworks, especially in relation to the contexts in which they were originally developed and situated. In Adventure Capital (2015) – a video work and installation commissioned for the Irish pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale – Lynch animated John Burke’s modernist sculpture, Uniflow (1988), which he found unceremoniously dumped in a county council depot. In the video, the sculpture comes alive, steps out of its hole and goes on an adventure through contemporary Ireland, visiting some other public artworks along the way. The original sculpture was commissioned by Cork City Council, but was soon removed from its location on the corner of a housing estate in Cork city, due to complaints by local residents.

Apparently, it had too many sharp edges and had also become a meeting point for underage drinkers, who presumably just resumed their antisocial behaviour elsewhere.

The examples I have outlined touch on a range of issues that can create undesired outcomes in public art commissioning, such as: budget constraints; insufficient long-term maintenance contracts; a lack of commitment or momentum from commissioning bodies; a lack of support within local communities; interference from larger infrastructural plans and so on. The aforementioned national guidelines are, therefore, best viewed as setting out a framework for a dynamic yet unpredictable durational process. It’s not so long ago that the McCarthy Report threatened the Per Cent for Art scheme itself, along with many other proposed cuts to the arts sector. This led to the establishment of The National Campaign for the Arts in 2009, to make a strong case for the arts in Ireland. Since then, a concerted effort has been made by local authorities across Ireland to pool multiple strands of Per Cent for Art funding from different departments, which has generated a series of substantial, high-profile projects. There has also been a noticeable shift away from sculpture-based public artworks in recent years, towards more socially-engaged or event-based projects, thus significantly broadening the definitions and remit of public art commissioning. Perhaps, in part, these new commissioning practices are aimed at reducing long-term expenditure on the maintenance of permanent artworks.

Stephen Rennicks is an artist based in county Sligo who investigates myth, mystery, the now and poetic truths, amongst other things, in his work. His project Knoxspark Forever (2017) aims to raise public awareness of Regeneration. stephenrennicks.wordpress.com Notes 1. Several other projects were commissioned under ‘Placing Art’ including: Ron van der Noll, Metaphoric Portrait of Michael Coleman; Imelda Peppard, Owning the Space; Laura Gannon, Underswim; and Ronnie Hughes, Keepsakes; as well as the ‘Placing Art’ catalogue: sligoarts.ie/media/SligoArts/Publications/ Downloads/Pilot%20Public%20Art%20Programme.pdf

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

35

PUBLIC ART ROUNDUP

Public Art

SEEDS OF WONDER

PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS, SOCIALLY-ENGAGED PRACTICE, SITE-SPECIFIC WORKS AND OTHER FORMS OF ART OUTSIDE THE GALLERY. PATHWAY

Artist: Alan Counihan Title of work: Seeds of Wonder Commissioning Body: Waterford and Wexford ETB Date Installed: July 2017 Budget: €53,000 Commission Type: Per Cent for Art Artists: Catherine Fanning and Brigitta Varadi Project Partners: Creagh College Secondary School, Gorey, County Title of work: Pathway Wexford, Project Manager/Curator Aileen Lambert Date sited: 19 July 2017 Description: The work Seeds of Wonder was recently installed by Alan Commission type: Per Cent for Art Counihan on the grounds of Creagh College Secondary School, Gorey, Commissioning body: Nazareth Care Village, Sligo Wexford. The installation comprises two large limestone seed forms Project partners: Sligo County Council Arts Office, Nazareth Housing placed on either side of the school building. One references literacy, Association the other numeracy. Rising from within each stone form are multiDescription: Pathway was a collaborative art commission between coloured glass ‘seeds’, which spill out across the forecourt and glimCatherine Fanning and Brigitta Varadi and the residents of Nazareth mer across the walls of the school’s entrance atrium. The aim of the Care Village, Sligo. The work comprised 12 sculptural ceramic art- work was to create a powerful and playful work that encourages curiworks, which were placed around the village and responded in a osity and wonder. In addition to the installation, the artist also created sympathetic manner to the grounds. The artists also presented an a short film presentation on the patterns and processes of growth that exhibition showing the development of the project over a 10-month shape our daily lives. The artist collaborated with Jerpont Glass to creperiod. The sculptures were inspired by the cycle of life, and more ate the glass elements of the work and was assisted by sculptor Rurai directly by the village garden and the changing of the seasons.

Carroll, who survived the project.

PRESENTING THE CULTURAL QUARTER Artist: Kerry Guinan Work Title: Presenting the Cultural Quarter Date carried out: 9 June 2017. An exhibition of same name ran from 20 – 23 July at A4 Sounds.

Project Partners: A4 Sounds Artist-in-Residence Programme Description: ‘Presenting the Cultural Quarter’ was a series of works produced by Kerry Guinan in response to the ongoing redevelopment of Parnell Square into Dublin’s next cultural quarter. The artist acted in criticism of the gentrifying effect of cultural quarters and their increased mobilisation by city planners and private developers who, she believes, are exacerbating the housing crisis in the area. On the 9 June 2017, Guinan issued a fake press release from a manufactured Hugh Lane Gallery email address. The statement announced a new €6 entrance fee into the Gallery, with the exception of “tenants paying over €1,500 in monthly rent, workers with gross earnings of over €45,000 a year, and private sponsors of the Parnell Square redevelopment.” Signage to the same effect was placed outside the Gallery’s entrance. Although the announcement was quickly revealed to be a hoax, the project nonetheless prompted two Gardaí to visit the artist’s home and caution her against developing the work any further. A solo exhibition of the same name’ was held at A4 Sounds, Dublin.

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The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities OPEN CALLS FIRST SOLO – RECENT GRADUATES Open call for recent graduates in the North East Region to have their first solo exhibition show in Droichead Arts Centre. Artists wishing to apply should email asking for an application form. Forms will ask applicants for: an artist statement; a brief proposal overview; a detailed proposal; and links to the applicant’s website/online material/Dropbox file of their work. Droichead Arts Centre plan to host one ‘First Solo’ exhibition in October 2018 and up to two in 2019.

Deadline 30 November Email rita.mcquillan@droichead.com Web droichead.com CRAFT BIENNALE SCOTLAND 2018: RESPONSE

place or interest. The Bursary Award of €10,000 provides the selected artist with time and resources to carry out research and to reflect on practice.

Particularly, the Bursary allows the artist to consider key questions associated with arts and activism using collaborative methodologies.

It is expected that the successful applicant will share the learning arising from the Bursary with the wider activist community and collaborative arts sector. Create will work in partnership with The Fire Station Artists’ Studios in providing information sessions and on the selection process.

Deadline 17 November Email info@create-ireland.ie Web create-ireland.ie TOURING AND DISSEMINATION OF WORK Touring and Dissemination of Work Scheme for tours beginning between July and December 2018 and Touring and Dissemination of Work Scheme Advance Planning 2019. The Arts Council of Ireland is delighted to announce that the Arts Council of Northern Ireland has confirmed that funding will be made available in 2018/2019 to touring applications that include a north/south element.

Touring in 2018 and 2019 will be supported through both the Touring and Dissemination of Work scheme and through the annual funding schemes Strategic Funding and Venues Funding. If you are considering preparing an application for 11 January 2018, remember that a Memorandum of Understanding is required for each date on the tour and these take some time to agree.

Application forms and guidelines will be available from mid-December 2017 through the Arts Council of Ireland’s online services. To discuss a possible application to the Touring Scheme, email the address below.

Deadline 11 January Email val.ballance@artscouncil.ie

TO PLACE Entries are invited for the inaugural open international exhibition ‘Response to Place’, which will be the centrepiece of a dynamic new biannual event – the Craft Biennale Scotland. The first Craft Biennale Scotland will launch in Edinburgh, with a major exhibition at the prestigious City Art Centre in 2018. The exhibition will be selected by four international curators: Grace Cochrane (Australia), Hyeyoung Cho (South Korea), Lars Sture (Norway) and Maeve Toal (Scotland).

The artistic concept for the exhibition is ‘Response to Place’. Artists are invited to submit work that responds to a place where they live, remember or imagine, or that contributes to individual identity or nationality, and ways in which we create and express our ‘place’ in the world.

Entrants will be notified of the outcome of their application on Tuesday 19 December 2017.

The exhibition will take from from 11 May – 8 July 2018. Entries are invited from British and International artists of all ages and at different stages of their careers, from those without formal training and undergraduates to established professionals.

RESIDENCIES Deadline 1 December, 5pm VISUAL ARTISTS IRELAND RESIDENCY Web curatorspace.com/opportunities/detail/craft-bien- The Visual Artists Ireland Residency Award (in partnership with the Tyrone Guthrie Centre) is nale-scotland open to all members of Visual Artists Ireland. The award provides a one week residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. The residency will be self-catering FUNDING / BURSARIES / AWARDS and will provide accommodation and a studio facility.

The award is only available to individual ARTISTS IN COMMUNITY BURSARY The Arts Council Artist in the Community Scheme artists. It is not suitable for group applications. Only Bursary Award 2017 aims to support individual online applications will be accepted. No applications professional artists working in the area of collab- will be accepted after that date. To ensure that the orative art and activism. The Arts Council provides system is fair for all, there can be no exceptions to this €10,000 bursary award as part of the Artist in this. For that reason we recommend that you do not the Community Scheme, which is managed by leave it until the last minute to make your Create, the national development agency for col- application. The winner will be announced in the second half of January 2018. laborative arts, on behalf of the Arts Council.

The purpose of the Bursary Award is to support Deadline and nurture professional arts practice and it is 15 December, 5:30pm specifically aimed at an artist who has a track record Web of working collaboratively with communities of visualartists.ie

The Visual Artists’ News Sheet

November – December 2017

37

VAI PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Visual Artists Ireland

Professional Development Winter 2017 Get Together 2017; photograph by Louis Haugh

Republic of Ireland

Northern Ireland

Dublin City

Tipperary

Belfast

COSTING & PRICING YOUR WORK with Patricia Clyne-Kelly Date/Time: Thu 9 Nov. 10:30 – 16:30.

Location: Visual Artists Ireland.

Places/Cost: 10 . €80/40 (VAI members).

SUSTAINING YOUR PRACTICE – CLONMEL In partnership with Tipperary County Council Date/Time: Wed 22 Nov. 10:30 – 16:30.

Location: South Tipperary Arts Centre.

Places/Cost: 15 – 20. €40/20 (VAI members).

VISUAL ARTISTS HELPDESK: PROJECT CLINICS Date/Time: Dec 12 2017, Feb 14 2018, March 14 2018. 12:00 – 17:00.

Location: Visual Artists Ireland NI. Places/Cost: 6. £5/FREE (VAI members)

WRITING ABOUT YOUR WORK with Sue Rainsford Date/Time: Wed 15 Nov. 10:30 – 16:30.

Location: Visual Artists Ireland.

Places/Cost: 6. €70/35 (VAI members).

Clare

Causeway Coast & Glens

ONE-TO-ONE CLINICS FOR ARTISTS IN ALL ART

VISUAL ARTISTS HELPDESK: PROJECT CLINICS Date/Time: TBC. Location: TBC. Places/Cost: 6. Cost TBC.

HEALTH & SAFETY FOR VISUAL ARTISTS with Vin Kiely, Helen Carey and Mick O’Hara Date/Time: Fri 1 Dec. 10:30 – 16:30.

Location: Visual Artists Ireland.

Places/Cost: 6. €70/35 (VAI members).

FORMS Session One: Wed 28 Nov. Time TBC at Glor, Ennis.

Session Two: Thu 29 Nov, Time TBC at Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery and Studios.

Other winter regional events planned:

Writing About Your Work Regional Child Protection Awareness Training Handling, Packaging & Storing Your Work Galway Peer Critique – Mixed Media VAI INFORMATION SESSION & ONE-TO-ONE Visual Artists Cafe (inc. Professional Practice talks) CLINICS Creative Proposals – Regional In partnership with Galway City Council & Galway Peer Critique – Sculpture/Installation County Council Arts Offices Details TBC

Cash Flow Forecasts & Financial Planning Curating Exhibitions

Upcoming events in Belfast, 2018: Visual Artists Cafe: Introducing South Belfast Project Management AV/Technical and Install Skills Brass Tax – Business skills for Freelancers How it’s Made – Artists discuss their practice Peer Critique – Sculpture/Installation

VISUAL ARTISTS’ CAFÉ – LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN! Date/Time: TBC. Location: TBC. Places/Cost: 25. FREE.

Ards & North Down VISUAL ARTISTS’ CAFÉ: INTRODUCING ARDS Date/Time: Wed 6 Dec, 18:00 – 19:00.

Location: TBC (Newtonards).

Places/Cost: 25. FREE. VISUAL ARTISTS’ CAFÉ – LET’S MAKE IT

Sligo

HAPPEN! Date/Time: Thu 19 Jan. 19:00 – 21:00.

Location: Boom! Studios, Bangor.

Places/Cost: 25. FREE.

VAI INFORMATION SESSION on Artist’s Social Welfare, Self Employment, Copyright and more In partnership with Sligo County Council Date/Time: Fri 3 Nov. 12:00 – 15:00.

Location: Council Chambers, Townhall, Quay St., Sligo.

Places/Cost: 20+. FREE to Sligo Artists Panel Members. €10 other artists.

ROI BOOKINGS AND INFORMATION To register a place or to find any information on any of our upcoming Professional Development events in the Republic of Ireland, please visit: visualartists.ie/professional-developmentp

Other events planned for Ards & North Down:

VISUAL ARTISTS HELPDESK: PROJECT CLINICS Date/Time: February TBC. Location: TBC. Places/Cost: 6. Cost TBC.

NI BOOKINGS AND INFORMATION To register a place or to find any information on any of our upcoming Professional Development eventsin Northern Ireland, please visit: visualartists.org.uk/booking

Fees VAI members receive preferential discount of 50% on fees for all VAI, training and professional development events. Fees range from €5 – €40 for VAI members.

Tell us about your training needs!

If you are interested in training please do get in touch with us directly or forward an expression of interest in a topic/s through the Professional Development Training web page. We often repeat workshops when there is a strong demand for a topic.

VAI Show & Tell Events VAI will schedule Show & Tell events during winter 2017 and invites interested artists, groups, venues or partners to get in touch if interested in hosting a Show & Tell. E: monica@visualartists.ie

Artist & Tutors Panel Visual Artists Ireland has an ongoing open submission process for artists and arts professionals interested in being part of an available panel of tutors contributing to the VAI Professional Development Training Programme. For details go to our training registration page and click on Register for the PDT Artists’ Panel.