Decay

We decided to go for a walk when Kevin and Sharon returned, so they could see the work without us. We could have left completely and remained strangers with them, but we decided to stay and in the end this made more sense. But when we got back after the walk, they still hadn't returned. So we waited in the bedroom for them, thinking about leaving as soon as they got in. Half an hour later, they returned.

What happened since they came back was further subtle transformations of matter - this time K & S reclaiming their things and their space. The microwave in the Holy Pole had to be switched on in order to reheat some left-over risotto; the traveling bags began to leak their contents around the room and further; some of the mail was opened.

The public viewing of the work was the following evening. We chose to return the work back to how it was when Kevin and Sharon returned. It was a futile and pedantic activity, close but not the same - many molecules were irreversibly out of position.

And now the work will continue to disintegrate and reintegrate itself back into Kevin and Sharon's lives. The objects that we were strange to us and made familiar by us, will revert back to a new kind of subtle other strangeness, slightly altered by our interactions and rearrangements.

So while our presence in the space was ultimately a minimal one, we were not tourists. We did more than merely skim the surface, but buried ourselves into it to find out perhaps, what lies beneath - an activity made possible only by the absence of our hosts.

"Dust Free" by Maggie. It won't be long before the cellophane comes off.

Unopened Mail

All the unopened mail we found lying in the hallway.

Your Clothes

The bed became another site for intervention. Graeme took all the clothes off the bed and rearranged them into colours and piles. Then we laid out the clothes of Kevin and Sharon's we had wore earlier onto it, so they could look like us when we looked like them.

Not For Sale

Maggie delved into Sharon's jewelery box and arranged a display similar to the ones made by street sellers we'd seen in Cork. Graeme added pictures and paintings sourced from the walls of the house.

Holy Pole

Household objects were laid on top of each other from the floor to the ceiling. We also used carpet cleaner to make a "path" on the carpet leading up to the pole, but it didn't appear in any of the photos.

Arrangements

Maggie arranged all the items in the bathroom into different coloured piles.

We then rearranged everything. Taking careful consideration of the objects aesthetic qualities.

Footprints were left with talc outlines.

Graeme rearranged the magnets on the fridge.

Other arrangements that were experimented with included activity in the kitchen arranging the herbs and spices in different ways - colour, spiciness etc and arranging the condiments in height order on top of the cooker. Maggie arranged some cigarette filters into a rectangular pile on a shelf in the bedroom and we made a tonally arranged pile of clothes on top of the wardrobe - dark at the bottom to light at the top.

Banal decoration, obsessive compulsive behaviour, art interventions or plain rude?

These are the questions I pose to myself as we start intervening with the space of someone’s home who we have never met and who will not be present for our planned stay and project time here. It all started as we first started to colour code all the products of the bathroom, creating a crazy organic sprawl from pure aesthetic intuition. I’m not one for the art of just aesthetics but as Graeme carefully arranges a mass of clear turquoise glass stones on the window sill, I felt sickened to think that there are people who would meticulously do this in the name of decoration or ostentation. Or was this reminiscent of a obsessive compulsive disorder that required these actions to happen for the sake of sanity. As I sat on the toilet looking at Graeme’s further rearranged shelf of objects, they can be seen as corresponding with each other through their shapes, sizes, colour etc, or a meaningless coincidental placement of objects, but one cannot help but think of the strange order of these things, that they are without a doubt deliberate and then one wonders what for. We have decided to keep this strictly as the order of things and it is interesting how it dictates how we interact with a space.

I have also been intrigued by whether our actions are interventions or intrusions. I could not help but feel that I was breaching someones’ privacy and treading tenuously the line of being impolite, whilst I scourged around for trinkets and jewellery to lay out neatly on a throw, displayed as if for sale in the entrance corridor. We have been given free will of what to do here except for any irreversible effects, but there still seems to be an unwritten rule of what is acceptable and what is not. As well as exploring this relationship, my desire is to highlight objects that one in life accumulates and to question and re-look at what one possesses. The works also reflects my experience of being a visitor in this particular scenario, comparing and associating with different peoples’ engagement of an environment.

Our New Clothes

Statement: Graeme Walker

We are tourists, in the House and in Cork and in The-House-in-Cork. We do not have a guide to show us the meaning of this place, so we are developing our own meanings using the materials that are to hand: the objects of The House. And in The House there are many unfamiliar objects which we have become preoccupied in becoming familiar and engaged with: the unopened post, the left toothbrushes. They are forming part of a new order; their meanings imbued with their designed purpose and subsequent use are transformed into objects reflective of our strange, disengaged context. In this they become strange to their owners who, when they walk in the door will be confronted with our totems, arrangements, taxonomy and systematic constructions; it will be the same familiar objects, but transported to an unfamiliar context: the context of strangers in their house.

What do our unguided tourist eyes see? We see everything as shape, colour, potential energy. Without the typical understanding of the objects we manipulate into these new forms - that of the everyday, generic sort - we can explore unconnectedly, developing ideas based on a more pure experience: original experience.

The churches, immigrants, expense, colour, sensory imputs all contribute to the work produced. The fact that we have access to these stranger's objects, are able to use them outside of their context as possessed artifacts enables us to translate what we experience directly, without emotional engagement to the objects, only to our position.

Synopsis

I was planning to go to Ireland with Maggie Tran, so I contacted a friend. He wasn't there, but his friends were, so I contacted them. They said we could stay in their house and make an exhibition, but then realised that they were going to be in Sweden while we were here. We arranged to have the private view on the evening of their return. We've never met. We're living in their house. Now what do we do?

EMAILS [later on]

Hi Graeme,
sorry for photo delay! Attached are 12 images of the house - they were all titled, and sent from Yahoo to another artist, but gmail seems to not like that (jealousy) so has renamed them all "UNKNOWN-PARAMETER-VALUE" . They are pretty self-explanatory - hall, sitting room/Kitchen, stairs. When again are you planning to visit??? We have been invited to do a small project in Sweden in early July, so will be gone for a few days around the 6th. Just so you know! Le meas, Sharon and Kevin

Hi there,

we're comin to cork between the 5th & the 12th of July - so it looks like we're gonna miss you if you're off to Sweden. But maybe we can still sort something out, depending on how long you're away for... Write and tell me your exact plans & we'll see if some arrangement can be made. Perhaps we can house sit for you while you're away and make our work which'll be ready for your return... Best, Graeme

* * *

Hey, could you give me the address of your place, so I can finish my flyer design? We've decided to call the event Auto Reflex. Graeme

No problem. "21 Annmount, Friar's Walk, Cork City". Will send images of front garden, back garden, maybe a floor plan, the street outside, etc. tomorrow evening - away at Sharon's homeplace in Co Waterford, so will be back in Cork tomorrow. 'Auto Reflex' sounds interesting, just to let you know it must be accomplished without any irreversible alterations to the house (e.g. painting walls)! It is a rule that we feel is necessary, as we dont have any budget to pay for repainting/fixing/un-burning etc. and to encourage artists to fit in to the space instead of imposing. Let us know what ye are planning, we might be able to help/find stuff/borrow stuff/etc. Til next time, all the best, Sharon and Kevin

Hey there, here's an image-in-progress for our project. Tell us what you think. G

Looks good enough to eat, metaphorically. The date may be a problem (for us) - Swedish transport looks confusing, we'l be a bus and train away from the 10.30 am plane (the daily ryanair flight out of Malmo), so might have to be back the 11th instead of 10th. Will know soon! About the flyer - how will people find the place? Phone, blog page (on our blog an option), other? K & S

I guess people will find the place by following the address on the flyer. Perhaps it would be a good idea to advertise it on your blog also. I will be advertising it on mine, so if you can let me know the dates that would be great. Graeme

Hi Graeme and Maggie, hope this finds you well??! We are looking forward to your project (not scared, honest) Here are the photos we said we'd send ages ago - of the front garden, back garden, view of the ocean... I mean view of the neighbours and the lane outside. The lane runs exactly east-west if that is of interest to you, so the houses on our side all face North. So the front gardens get sun in the morning, the back (we have that big skylight) is bright in the afternoon, which is nice. Our plans for Sweden are getting together, flights are booked so we hav to go now anyway! So we leave on the 3rd, back in Cork at about 17.00 on the 10th, back at the house at about 17.45
We can sort out details in the next week or so, where you will get key, any advertising/flyering you want done, any specific technical requirements (lamps, etc.) etc etc. Talk to you soon (arrange a phone call for not tomorrow but the monday after that?) Ciao for now, Sharon & Kevin

Hey guys, here is the flyer for email-outs. We put the opening on the 11th so you've got a bit of time to get your heads together, but if you fancy it by all means change it back to the 10th. Any design comments are welcome, there's still time to change it. Graeme

Thanks Graeme, it still looks good! and thanks for the date change, we might be a bit more alert/awake by the day-after-the-week-before. One suggestion - you could put 'for further information/directions/ see www.skart.wordpress.com' at the bottom. It looks interesting, can we go? Cheerio, Kevin, representing Sharon & Kevin inc.

Of course you can come, as long as you behave and don't knock things over, because the people from skart would be angry with us. G

* * *

Hello, what's the score with our visit to cork? Perhaps if you give me Lorraine's email, I can arrange meeting up with her. Graeme

Sorry haven't contacted in a while a bit up the walls trying to getting the house clean for your arrival & getting work printed for Sweden. Haven't Lorraine's email address, thought I had but I don't.... not sure even if she'll be around. But don't worry will have a plan and things for you to do and see while your here ...... what time will you be flying in to Cork on Thursday???? Don't know if your interested but there is an opening on at the Glucksman Gallery that same day/ evening, to kick start your cork visit with a good hard dose of artistic mingling and wine tasting. Hope all is well for your project and that your full of questions to put to the arty parties ere in Cork!! Just to give a flavor of what'll be on and to go to while your enjoying an Irish summer. Sharon & Kevin (your virtual hosts)

Hey, we arrive at 10:15 am on thursday the 5th, so that's a good full day of getting used to things. Give us a call if you can, but don't worry if you can't. Have a good trip. Graeme

Sorry not so quick with the replies.....hope you have a good time in Scotland, and we'll meet you on Tuesday when we get back. Not sure if Lorraine is going to round so we have a trusty friend giving you the key - (Peter McMorris, 087 9499794, he works at the Glucksman Gallery)........ our house is 21 annmount, Friars walk, very near the junction of friars walk and tower st, its on a small cul de sac with about 20 house on either side (you've seen the pics). We have attached a map from Google Earth, with markers for our house and the Glucksman Gallery. So the plan is... You will have to collect the key from Peter at the Glucksman, either ring him on his mobile, try the gallery number (00 353) 21 4901844, or just call in and ask for him. Maybe best to just get taxi to UCC (university College Cork) front gates on Western Road, then the gallery is just inside. Our house is about 15 mins walk from there. Enjoy your adventures, hope to see ye when we get back??!!! Will email out your flyer tomorrow, and will try to check email while we are away. Sorry there'll be no-one else in the house (might be a good thing) but there's about 300,000 people in Cork so you wont be alone... Ring me, Sharon, on 087 6304003 if you have any problems... the phone no. of the place we're going to is 00 46 76 10 85 936, ask for Helle Kvamme. Cheerie Oh, K&S

Sounds good to me, let the adventure begin... see you soon, g






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