occupy paper issue two

8/9/2019 Occupy Paper Issue Two

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ISSUE 2

CCUPY


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Occupy Paper2 Issue Two 3

OccupySpaceis one of Limericks newest exhibition

paces, located on Thomas street. It has been set up toacilitate an ever expanding need for artistic exhibition

paces in Limerick. It is an artist led project, run by members

of Wickham Street Studios on a voluntary basis. Occupypace is committed to delivering a relentlessly energetic

programme of exhibitions and events.

Our intention is that this space will be a central axis for auge variety of creative people to experiment and present

heir work. The organization encourages openness andaccessibility to artists and the visiting public alike, and

aims to provide an open solid platform for the visual arts.

Our program involves hosting exhibitions of emerging andestablished artists, with a strong emphasis on exhibiting

hose based in Limerick. OccupySpace also hosts otherartist led projects such as artists talks, seminars and

collaborative events with other creative practitioners andorganizations.

his new visual art journal is intended to expand on the

exhibitions and events happening in the gallery as wellas provide a platform for critique and dialogue between

emerging and established artists in Limerick and beyond.Artists, critical writers and other art practitioners are invited

o submit to the journal and engage with it as a means of

esting, experimenting, developing and expanding on newdeas and concepts.

Submissions

Occupy paper is a freeonline journal published

monthly or bi-monthly.We are actively looking

for contributors to writearticles, essays, and reviews.Occupy paper accepts

all submissions related tocontemporary art practice

from painting and printto sculpture, video and

beyond.If you would liketo be included in the focus

section please send a CV,5-10 images and a short

statement about your work.

All submissions should besent by email to :

[email protected]

Occupy Paper is a new onlinepublication for contemporary art,which will run alongside the visual artprogramme in place in Occupy Space.

InterviewGareth Jenkins 16

Talks about his practice and recent MA in the National College of Artand Design

Beth Fox 24

Talks about her practice and new exhibtion

ReviewDana Schutz 28

Deirdre Kelly reviews Schutzs new show at The Douglas Hyde Gallery

CONTENTS

In the GalleryIslandMary Noonan and Damien OConnell 04

Talk about their new joint exhibtion in Occupy Space

FocusLaura McMorrow 32

Member of Wickham Street Studios, Limerick

CCUPY


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In the GalleryIslandMary Noonan and Damien OConnell

Occupy Space presents Island, an exhibtion of work byMary Noonan and Damien OConnell. Both artists explore

the concept of the island as a closed space. Much like awaiting room or prison cell, the island is conceived as a

dual space of innite limitation and potential. The island isa place we long to escape or seek refuge.

The show previewed Thursday 1st of July 7-9pm and ran until 17th July


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Occupy Paper Issue Two 7

Island Mary Noonan andDamien OConnell tellOccupy Paper about theirrespective practices andtheir new joint exhibtionin Occupy Space

OP Tell us a bit about yourcademic background,

id you have anynuential tutors or peers?

OC I did my BA in

merick School of Artnd Design and my MA

n Central St Martins in

ondon.

MN I did a diploma inne Art in DLIADT in

000; in 2001 I returnedo college and spent

wo years in the NCADainting department

raduating with a BA in

003. I recently nishedtwo-year Master in

ne Art (MFA) in NCADhrough the painting

epartment again, thatwas in 2009. The most

nuential tutors I hadwere Robert Armstrong,

usan Mac William andarah Durcan. During

my masters I was lucky

nough to have Susans my personal tutor

n the rst year andarah in the second.

Both were great tutors with

very different approaches,which I think brought out the

best in me. Susan was veryencouraging and always

helping me to push thework further. Sarah asked

the tough questions andreally helped me to focus

my practise. The Masters

was the best thing I could

have done for my work. Ifound it very challenging and

extremely worthwhile. I spentthe two years focusing solely

on the development of mywork, trying to nd my own

personal standpoint as anartist.Farmers Daughter,

mixed media,Mary Noonan 2010


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armers Daughter(close-up),mixed media, Mary Noonan010

So lthy spuds

could grow in hisears..., watercolour,watercolourpencil, pencil andgold marker ontorn paper, MaryNoonan 2010

What kind of themes and

cerns are explored in your

tice?

use my research intoore and superstition to form

basis/foundation for my. There is a strong sense of

ative to most of the workthese narratives are often

open and are not clearly

ned in the nished piece.rpret stories I research

ellish and change themugh the process of making

artwork. In a sense I am

creating my own world

in my work, using researchand personal memory and

experience. My upbringing on

a farm in county Mayo informsthe work a lot. There is a strong

element of the surreal and oftenthe pieces are quite sinister.

Id like to think that the work isa sort of an amalgam of the

real world along with anotherimaginary parallel world. Much

of my research relates to fairy-

faith and stories about thefairies. For example what drew

me to the fairly common story

of the changeling was how

multi-layered and imaginativeit was, but also how it was a

way for people to explain and

understand things like diseaseand mental illness at a time

when professional medicaladvice was unavailable to the

majority. These stories for meare a very imaginative way of

explaining the unexplainable. Alot of the sources I look at were

written in the late nineteenth

and early twentieth centuryfrom the perspective of the

Anglo-Irish, with people like

Douglas Hyde and LadySperenza Wilde giving great

accounts of folklore. I aminterested in how myth and

superstition have informedhow Irishness is viewed

and interpreted and howit has added to what is an

element of our nationalstereotype.

DOC One thread that

runs throughout my work

is absurdity. What Camus(when discussing the work

of Kafka) describes as an

indescribable universe inwhich man allows himself

the tormenting luxury ofshing in a bathtub, knowing

nothing will come of it.I think that could sum up

the broad scope of mypractice, intertextuality,

incongruity, failure andlaughter.

OP Your work seems to

be divided into drawing/

painting and sculpture,which part is more important

or stronger in your practice?

MN I love both. I treat thesculptures almost as if they

are 3D paintings, and havea very tactile approach to

the 2D work. I often cut andtear the paper, with this I

am trying to give a sense ofthe psychological aspects

of what is going on in thework. By doing a violence

to the paper I am in effectleaving a physical residue

and visual evidence of that

trauma. I dont think thatone element of my practice

is more important or stronger


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Scotoma 1, watercolour &pencil on paper, DamienOConnell 2010

the sculpturesare curious,liminal objectswhile the

drawings serveto fold andunfold the elusivenarrative

Sucking on a lemon,watercolour, watercolourpencil, pencil& pencil oncut and torn paper

han the other I like being

iverse and working in a

umber of different ways.

OC For me, there is nouch hierarchy. I will use

whatever method or means

kely to accomplish my endsnd this will often expandeyond drawing/painting

nd sculpture. With much

f my work, including Island,he sculptures are curious,

minal objects while therawings serve to fold and

nfold the elusive narrative.oth elements perform

eparate but relatedunctions, so the work might

e encountered as a seriesf fractured connections,

which amount to an open-

nded model of thought.

OP Where does your

imagery originate?

DOC On a supercial level,

the imagery I use could beperceived as solipsistic or

hermetic and perhaps on

some level these imagesare a reection of an innerworld. However, it is not

my intention to create

something overtly esotericor private. Instead, I want

to recover some kind ofcritical vitality by arousing

wonder and curiosity, or, likeGide, I want to know who

will deliver our minds fromthe heavy chains of logic.

So, to answer the question,the images emerge from

tangible but disparate

sources, such as, books, art

(historical & contemporary),

lm, newspapers,

and so on. Through recurringelements, such as the

chair, I intend to exploit theburdensome symbolism

of the object. Through its

omnipresence in my work,the chair becomes anunwitting provocateur: it is

an accepted totality within

the miniature tableau but abewildering conundrum for

the viewer. This is the tensionI am interested in, between

wonder, confusion andfailure.

MN My visual research is

broad and includes sourcessuch as painters from the

Northern Renaissance, Lucas

Cranach the Elder, Pieter

Breugal and HieronymusBosch to contemporary

artists Verne Dawson, Dana

Schutz and Ellen Gallagher.I am also very interested

in illuminated manuscripts.I am happy to take

inspiration from wherever Ican and often the literary

sources I look at suggestimagery or trigger memories.

I keep a notebook with me

at all times and jot downideas when I have them. I

visit galleries a lot and amquite nerdy taking notes as I

go along.

OP How do you tend towork, what can you tell

us about your process in

general?DOC I collect fragments

of image/text from

various sources andattempt to construct a

vocabulary/narrative by

looking for connections orcombinations that might

lead towards a divergentor an incongruous situation.

In a practical sense thisamounts to an ongoing

process of reading,underlining, looking, writing,

drawing and making. These

elements then collide in aconstructed mise-en-scene.

MN I have already

mentioned tearing andcutting the paper. I work

on a number of pieces atthe same time, sometimes

nishing a piece fairlyquickly but more often than

not working on something,

leaving it and then returning

to it at a later stage. I

nd I need to have a fewthings on the go at the

same time. The sculpture/installation Farmers

Daughter that I showed atOccupy Space took a long

time to evolve. I had thecot in my studio for about

two years. I tried severalthings with it that just didnt

work, eventually the idea of

having a landscape almostspewing itself out of the

cot emerged. I was hopingto give a sense of having

been born into somethingthe land in my case, and

how ones environment andancestry or sense of place

inuences someone froman early age. The fact that

the land is made from very

unreal materials such as


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sula, sculpture,amien OConnell 2010

Monument to Lent after Breugel, sculpture, Damien OConnell 2010

he scenics used for modelailways was important

o me also, I felt that thefakeness of the materials

might suggest to the viewer detached or removed

iew of the land and lean

owards issues surroundingtereotype and identity. I

wanted there to be a strongense of narrative as the

iewer worked their wayround the piece. I wanted

here to be that same sensef navigation in the large

watercolours. I often dontave a very set plan for my

work but rather start with a

eneral idea and throughworking with the materials

allow for them to somewhatsuggest the eventual

outcome of the work. I try asmuch as I can to push the

materials as far as I can. As Imentioned already my little

notebook is very important

to me. I jot down noteson artworks and ideas for

artworks. Generally thesenotes could be expressions

that I heard growing up,quotes from books or visual

diagrams of ideas forfuture work.

OP Are there any artists out

there that you really admire

and maybeinuence you?

DOC There are manyartists whose work I am

continually drawn to, MarkManders, Fischli & Weiss,

Julian Rosefeldt, Paul Thekand Bas Jan Ader, to name

a few. Samuel Beckett and

Flann OBrien have had atleast an equal impact, for

the transgressive laughterthat resonates through their

work.

MN Yes of course, the ones Ihave mentioned already as

well as many others. I try toexpose myself to as much

art as I can without getting

overwhelmed! Ideas cancome from the unlikeliest


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one way of

describing the

exhibition is that I

observe the island

from a detached

distance whereas

Mary has a

more immediate

presence, in other

words, she isonshore while I am

adrift!

nd a great tumult came from theround..., mixed media,

Mary Noonan 2010

ew Wonder Cure,mixed media,

ary Noonan 2010Deus Ex Cathadra and Precipice,

sculpture, Damien OConnell 2010

places sometimes, so I try to

be open.

OP How did you nd

exhibiting in Occupy Space?What did you think of the

similarities between yourwork?

DOC It was an interesting

space to negotiate andsometimes had quite a

transformative effect on the

installation. The dark room feltespecially cavernous, given

the miniature nature of mywork, placing the small

Monument to Frugality piecein this solemn concrete

mausoleum created a furtherdisruption of scale and

expectation. Beyond thesurface similarities in our work,

it was interesting to uncover

the more subtle thematicconnections, such as our

separate approaches tobelief systems. I think one way

of describing the exhibitionis that I observe the island

from a detached distancewhereas Mary has a more

immediate presence, in otherwords, she is onshore while I

am adrift!

MN I was really happy to

exhibit in Occupy Space, Ithink the space itself is great

with a lot of scope to workwith. Personally it was a great

chance for me to show someof my bigger pieces. Working

with Damien was very

enjoyable, although we hadnever actually met before,

running up to the show wekept in good contact via

e-mail, so I felt we had beenacquainted already. The

whole process was verydemocratic between us, the

installation was discussedand mulled over and we

got on very well. It was avery pleasant experience

working with Damien.

OP What are your plans for

the future?Any upcomingexhibitions?

DOC My next solo show willbe Monument with PallasContemporary Projects in

Dublin as part of their artist

initiated summer program.I have also been working

closely with the curatorialgroup Tall Tales in London,

and have upcoming groupexhibitions in Bearspace

and The Elevator Gallery,London.

MN Yeah, Im showingve watercolours in COE

2010 in my hometown ofClaremorris in September,

so looking forward to that.

Also I was selected toexhibit in a three-personshow with Peter Burns and

Anne Hendrick by Patrick

Murphy at the RoscommonArts Centre in late 2011. I

am working toward a soloexhibition in the Linenhall Art

Centre, which is in 2011 aswell, so Ill be busy working

away in my studio at theRed Stables.


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AF Hi Gareth, so tell us abit about your academic

background, where youdid your degree and your

Masters, did you have anynuential tutors or peers?

GJ My interest in a career

as an artist began later

han most, in fact it cameat a time when I was a full

ime chef working abroadn New Zealand. Being in

a new environment anddifferent culture gave

me the opportunity todiversify my creative skills

rom cooking to paintingand sculpture. In 1998

enrolled on a full time

one year diploma courseat a local art college

called The LearningConnexion in Wellington,

New Zealand. Thecourse gave me a basic

practical understandingof artistic techniques and

methodologies. After ayear my visa ran out and I

eturned to Ireland where

continued as a chef forhree years but I was intent

Gareth JenkinsInterview

Gareth talks to Aoife Flynnabout his practice andupcoming exhibtions

My interest in a career as an artist began laterthan most

on pursuing my interest inart (especially painting)

further. With no portfolio orany secondary education to

speak of my only option was

to return to education as amature student at the local

Further Education Centrein Abbeyleix, Co. Laois in

2003. After successfullycompleting the Fetac level

5 Arts, Craft and Designcourse, I submitted my

portfolio to a handful of Art

institutions around Irelandand was lucky enough to be

accepted at the LimerickSchool of Art and Design.

After completing my four

year BA Honours in Fine ArtPainting in 2008, I moved

to The National College ofArt and Design in Dublin

where I recently nisheda two year Master of Fine

Art post-graduate degreein research by practice

through painting.

The courses themselvesalthough very insightful and

useful on so many differentlevels were only as good as

the students and staff that

breathed life into them.I met many tutors and

peers whose advice andencouragement helped

shape my current practiceand whom I shall always

hold in high regard and toname them all would require

a sequel to this publication.

DSC 0014 - Acrylic on board - 30cm x 33cm. 2010

Installation View 2010.


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AF What kind of themes

nd concerns are exploredn your practice? How did

hey change from yourachelors to your Masters?

GJ The paintings I producere to a degree intuitive,

y which I mean I starttraight in to painting

without any back uprawings or sketches. Over

he past couple of years Iave taken and collected

undreds of photographsf architectural structures

nd spaces from the urban

andscape that I use toeference the linear and

harp edged forms andtructures inherent in my

work. One of the main

concerns in my practice atthe moment that came out

of my time on the Masterscourse at NCAD is my

interest in the painting as

object. To put it another wayI am interested in treating

the application of paintas a constructing process,

building up different layersand thicknesses of sharp

edged marks. In a similarway I am also experimenting

with constructing physical3-D structures that are

referential of painting as the

constructed object. Lookingback on my practice at

bachelor level my themeshave changed in the way

I am not so concerned

with referencing an area oridea directly. For example

my work at the momentis not linked directly to

architecture or urban

landscapes; it is more thatthe concept is born out of

fragmented memories ofarchitectural forms. Over

the last two years I have alsogained more condence

in decision making withregard to exhibiting my

work, i.e. what to hang andhow much work to show,

whereas at my Bachelor

exhibition I felt I hadexhibited too much work.

the concepts born out offragmented

memories ofarchitecturalforms

AF I remember your work had a strong technology

theme when we did our degree course, did this carryon into your Masters?

GJ Technology as a theme didnt carry over directly

but there are some recurring elements and motifs

that resurfaced through the research process. Thereare concepts of geometric forms and a use of sharp

edged line, but instead of using those to relate directlyto in this case a technological object; I now use them

to create illusions of space and structure.

DSC 0001 - Acrylic onboard - 2ft x 2ft. 2010

Installation View 2010.


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my process isntuitive, it canmove in differentdirectionsdepending onwhat I am tryingo do

AF What about your process

in general? How do youwork?

GJ As I mentioned previously

my process is intuitive. It canmove in different directions

depending on what I amtrying to do. In some cases,

especially in my currentbody of work if I am dealing

with sculptural concepts as

well as a painting process,I will begin by looking at

or taking photographsof interesting forms or

structures. Then I will start tomake a variety of models/

sculptures out of what islying around the studio, this

usually takes the form ofcardboard or wood and

again will be very abstract

and intuitive in nature.At any given moment I

might begin to lay downa variety of forms or linear

marks using acrylic paint onboard and a masking tape

that will usually referencefragments of the models or

photographs so in this sense

the process is quite organic.

The colour of paint usuallycomes from a photographof a particular structure

but can change or belayered over quite rapidly.

My choice of acrylic paintover oil paint came out of

a sheer lack of patience.Accustomed to oil paints at

Bachelor level, I carried on

with them into my Masterscourse but they were too

messy so I had to changemy process and materials

to acrylic in order to speed

up the process and to allowme to create a tighter

line. Canvas had to beexchanged for MDF board

as well, because I needed

a sturdier ground to painton which also allowed me

the ability to sand the paintoff if I was dissatised at any

point.

AF Are there any artists out

there that you really admireand maybe inuence you?

GJ There are artists I admire

and there are also artiststhat inuence me. Any

artists that are out thereworking away at the

moment even though theyare struggling to survive

nancially would be an artistthat I admire. There are

plenty of artists and writers

I have befriended alongthe way whom I keep in

touch with that are ndingit tough and I respect them

for their convictions. As for

artists that have inuencedme I would have to say

out of the many, TommaAbts, Frank Nitsche, Thomas

Schiebitz, Thomas Nozkowskiand Richard Tuttle. All these

artists have inuencedmy practice in that I have

found interesting links

between their processesand my own, whether itis similar application of

paint or use of materials

or their outlook on art andthe contemporary world in

general.

AF You went straight fromyour degree into your

Masters, looking back nowwould you have preferred

some space from the

whole academic aspect ofcollege or was it important

DSC 0012 - Acrylic on board - 21cm x 21cm. 2010

SC 0010 - Acrylic on board - 2ft x 4ft. 2010

DSC 0002 - Acrylic on board - 2ft x 2ft. 2010


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going straight into theMasters for me was apositive step

or you to keep this up, to

eep the momentum going?

J Going straight from my

achelors in LSAD to theaster of Fine Art course

NCAD was not an easyecision at the time. I was

ght in the middle of thereaded thesis, trying to

et to grips with the nal

erm of practical work anderesa (my wife) and I were

xpecting our rst baby. Weoth decided I should apply

nd if it was meant to be Iould get on to the Masters

t NCAD. After the interviewwas sure I had blown it and

was already making plansor life after the Bachelors.

nyway I received a letteraying otherwise and I

arted the course in NCAD

bout two weeks aftereresa gave birth to baby

aomi, timing is everything

I guess.There were a lot of

moments on the Mastersthat I regretted being there;

I had notions of making the

wrong decision usually whenmy practice seemed to be

stagnating. In retrospectwith the nature of my

practice feeling unresolved,at the time of nishing the

Bachelors, I now believe

that going straight intothe Masters for me was apositive step that I now do

not regret. For other artists

it could be a different storyand I think it depends on the

individuals needs at thattime. I would recommend

most Bachelors studentstake a few years out to get

to grips with their practice ina real world scenario before

taking the next step towards

a Masters, as some peoplewill never need to do the

course.

AF Is being able to work

alongside other artistsimportant to developing

your practice after college?

GJ Again it depends on theindividual, some artists prefer

to be alone and othersneed the constant stimulus

of fellow artists for their workto ourish. Personally I am

quite happy to work on my

own but it is also useful andsometimes important to beable to be in contact with

other artists and friends from

time to time. I usually emailor phone friends once or

twice a month for a chatand even arrange to meet

up at events like galleryopen nights. Sometimes I

arrange to meet up withfriends to visit exhibitions

once a month to keep up

with trends in contemporaryart, an important part of any

artists practice.

AF You have a studio space

near your home, what are

your plans for it?GJ Living in a small town

does have its advantagessometimes with regard to

studio space. For the pasttwo years I have been very

lucky in that I was given afree space in an old closed

down primary school which

is within walking distancefrom home. There are nosigns of it being reopened

at the moment so I am safe

there for the foreseeablefuture.

AF Has the recession

affected your practice atall?

GJ Having only just left

education after six years

I am not in a position tosay anything concrete

about the recession and

my practice personally.

There are artists out therethat are still having sold out

exhibitions, and there are

still grants and bursariesavailable. However it does

go without saying thatwhen there is less money

available most people aregoing to see purchasing

any form of art as a luxury

and not a necessity, but fornow anyway it seems thereare still some opportunities

out there. Whether they are

there next year or the yearafter we will have to wait

and see.

AF What are your plans forthe future?Any upcoming

exhibitions?

GJ At the moment I am

working towards a groupexhibition in September

with a collective known as

prettyvacanT who put on

exhibitions in disused spacesaround Dublin. In October

I will be exhibiting as part

of the Table of Contentsproject at the Limerick

School of Art and Designand in November I have my

rst Solo show in the NAGat the Cross Gallery, Francis

Street in Dublin, so short term

I am pretty busy. Next yearand the foreseeable futureI am not sure, I will continue

with my practice and apply

to future projects andexhibitions. If I was given

the choice I would jump atthe opportunity to become

a tutor at a third levelcollege of Art while also

continuing with my practiceas I am always interested in

continuous discourse with

students and artists alike.

DSC 0005Acrylic onboard

29cm x 33cm2010

SC 0003 - Acrylic on board - 29cm x 33cm. 2010


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Recent graduate of Limerick School of Artand Design talks to Occupy Paper abouther practice and new exhibition

Beth Fox

My main area of researchsurrounds how and why artists

use humour in their work. This

is a subject that Ihave beenstudying for the best part of

two years. My own practicedoesnt really follow any one

particular line of enquiry, itsmore a series of reactions to

whatever is happening tome in my life. In that way my

practice is similar to a sense of

humour. I am concerned withthemes of originality, value and

the whole notion of being anartist and art-making, but of

course, thats really the onlything I can make work about,

as thats the only thing Ivebeen thinking about for the

last four years. Its like whenyoure writing an essay in

secondary school, they tell you

write about what you know.Basically I make work about

trying to make original work. Iam also very interested in the

thin line between payinghomage and ripping off.

I often use humour as acommunicative device in my

work, sometimes it is subtle,

other times it more overt.

My work is very reactionary.I can go for months without

having an idea, thensomething might happen, or Ill

read something or have aconversation and than Ill

have AN IDEA, Im sure thatsthe same for everyone. A lot

of the time the artists that I

am researching will have ahuge inuence on the way Im

working. I can look back at myportfolio and see what artists I

was reading about at the


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me that I made a speciciece. That used to worry

me, but now I think its okay,

m all for acknowledgingnuence, embracingnoriginality. I was worried

hat I didnt make a lot of

work until I read this lovelynterview with Christian

oltanski, he said A lot ofhe time I dont do anything,

ust watch TV, then I haven idea but usually it only

akes veminutes to make.hen I go back to watching

V. That sort of sums it up

eally.

The idea of the degreeshow work stemmed

from the system that is

currently in place in thesculpture department visa vis The Degree Show.

We are all told to write

a proposal for our Showthree months before the

actual event in order tolay claim to a suitable

space in the gallery. Dueto my own practice being

quite interchangeableandreactionary I had no idea

what I would be making

three months down the line,and I hated the idea of

having to write one proposalas a sort of culmination of

four years study, and have

to stick to it. I couldntdecide which one ideato stick with. I ended up

writing loads of proposals.

I wrote proposals for workthat I had made in the

past, proposals for ideasthat had died along the

way, proposals for workthat I would like to make

but could never afford, andproposals for other artists

work, that I appropriated.

Then I just decided to stickthe proposals up on the

wall. I liked the fact that theviewer would have to try

to visualise all this work that

wasnt there. In a way it waslike a really minute form ofinstitutional critique. As well

as being very economic.

Gavin Turk is obviously an

artist that I really admire, hiswork is funny but more than

that. His work is all aboutvalue and authorship, which

is obviously something thatI am also really interested

in. I remade his plaque for

my Degree Show. I liked theidea that something that

was made for a show in

the Royal College back inthe 90s was being remade

in Limerick twenty years

down the line. I also loveStutervant as well, sinceshes all about copying.The

artists that she chooses to

copy are what make herso interesting though I think,

often she replacates anartists work before theyve

even become established.Other artists that I love and

have ripped off are FelixGonzalez Torres, Sarah

Lucas, Douglas Gordon,

David Shrigley, GillianWearing...Lots of the YBAs...

(not so Y anymore!)

Im currently living inBrighton working and

trying to save money as

Im starting the MA in FineArt in Central St Martins atthe start of October. My

Degree show is going to

be re-exhibited in Cork inSeptember in a show of

recent Graduates selectedand curated by Ian

McInerney from the BlackMariah.

Beths show in the Black Mariah, Corkopens Septemeber 10th and runs for

a week

A lot of the time Idont do anything,I just watch TV,then I have anidea but usuallyit only takesve minutes to

make. Then I goback towatching TVChristian Boltanski


15/21


Review Dana SchutzDeirdre Kelly reviews Schutzs newshow Tourettes Paintings at

The Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin

Thursday 15th July, saw

Dana Schutz give anartists talk in the Douglas

Hyde Gallery, TCD to

mark the opening ofher exhibition, Tourettes

Paintings. A large groupgathered to hear the self-

deprecating American, agraduate from Cleveland,

Ohio, talk us throughher new body of work.

She exhibits from the

Zach Feuer Gallery anda number of her works

are in all the major

North American Galleriesas well as the Saatchi,London. The rst impression

upon walking into thegallery is one of colour,

brightness and a feelingof summer due to the

bright oranges, reds and

yellows that populate herwork. The colouring is

reminiscent of the Fauvistsand indeed one of her

larger works has a Matissestyle decorative patterned

background in intricateswirls of blue and black.

There is also a sense of

the cartoonish humour of

Philip Guston with inatedand overblown grotesque

features enveloping eachgure in different hues

of pink and red. FrancisBacons distorted features

also comes to mind so itis clear that Schutz carries

a weight of art historythroughout her concept.

There is a good sense

of humour emanatingfrom the work which

Schutz claims was not

a deliberate act on herpart but one gets theimpression from the artist

herself that this humouris an essential element

of her own make-up.However , it is a more

black than whimsical

humour in that there is anunderlying sense of gloom

or unhappiness prevailing.The title of the exhibition

comes from the fact thatSchutz can feel stied or

awkward around certainsituations almost as if she

suffers from this syndrome

herself. For instance,

her piece, Poke, cameabout as she was sitting

in a restaurant with herfriend and as he was

talking, her mind wasoverowing with questions.

Why hadnt she noticedbefore how blue his eyes

were? What would

his reaction be if she

suddenly leaned over and

poked him in the eye?Her images therefore

are her visualisations ofthoughts and impressions

going on in her headwhich she knows that

if she carried out inreal life, she would be

considered as someone

strange, someone on

the periphery, someone

that people do not quiteknow what to make of,

in essence, someonewith Tourettes Syndrome.

This someone howeverhas far more complexity

and intelligence than isapparent to the viewer.

Swimming, Smoking,

Dana Schutz, Swimming, Smoking, Crying, 2009.Oil on canvas, 45 x 48 inches. Collection Nerman Museum ofContemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, OverlandPark, Kansas, gift of Marti and Tony Oppenheimer and the

Oppenheimer Brothers Foundation.


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Crying and its counterpart

Shaking, Cooking, Peeingcame about through a

mixing of elements or

actions that cannot beaccomplished together.

One or two are capableof being performed

simultaneously but whenthe third angle is added,

the result is impossible.Even women with their

ability to multi-task areinhibited by this third

element. Schutz recalls

how as a teenagershe loved to swim and

while underwater shouther head off to release

her tensions. She alwaysthought that being

underwater muted herscreams until she heard

someone shouting whileswimming and realised

that everyone had been

able to hear her allalong! This led her to

think of things that itwas not possible to do

while swimming. Cryingand swimming go nicely

together because nobodyrealises you are actually

crying. Smoking and crying

also seem complimentarybut swimming and

smoking are a no-go, animpossibility.Shaking and

cooking can combinewhen one is performing

tasks in the kitchen.Peeing and shaking are

also possible but againadding all three together

just does not work. She

thus works with theidea of opposites and

contradictions which

are clearly more subtlethan apparent from her

imagery.

This opposition conveysan air of tension in the

work although the artistherself would not be

drawn on this. She doesnot feel any anxiety

or apprehension whenundergoing her process

but she accepted thatif that was what people

felt than perhaps it was a

subconscious act on herpart. She is perhaps, she

admitted, releasing built-upanxieties through her work.

One image has adistorted face with

sharp protruding anglesemanating from his/her

throat. Schutz recountshow this autobiographical

imagery came about

through her own panicand embarrassment. She

did not have the correctchange one day in a

store or department andfound her ear aring

involuntary, which sheshows in the image, while

her throat contracted and

she could not get thewords out. It felt like a

bird had been trapped inher throat and the only

way she could project thissense of helplessness was

through an image of asharp and distorted throat.

Obviously then there is alot more to Schutz than

playful, colourful and

gestural painting.

ana Schutz,haking, Cooking, Peeing009, Oil on canvas2 x 60 inchesrivate Collection

Exhibition runs at the Douglas HydeGallery from July 16th to September15th 2010. A catalogue is availablefrom the Gallery to accompanythe exhibition.www.douglashydegallery.com


17/21


FocusLaura is a graduate of Limerick

School of Art and Design and iscurrently a member of WickhamStreet Studios. Here she talks toOccupy Paper about her practiceand recent exhibition.

Laura McMorrow

OP Hi Laura, so can you tell us what kind of themes and concerns are explored in your

practice?

LMcM I am concerned with the reinvention of found objects, approaching each objectdifferently, depending on the surface. I use a wide range of mediums including paint,

collage, drawing, and print to convey a narrative that comes about by presenting anumber of different images collectively. I aim to create work that requires a second

glance from the viewer by subverting traditional methods of hanging. My recent workexplores themes of geology, taxidermy, and drunkenness.

OPYou use a lot of found and discarded materials and thats been a continuous thing

since college. Is that something that comes naturally, are you quite a collector?

LMcM Im a hoarder, I cant throw anything out. Id like to think a lot of artists have the

same problem! It just makes more sense to me to recycle what is close to hand. Imparticularly prone to collecting cardboard packaging, and I do my bit for society by

keeping the charity shops in business.


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OP A lot of the images you work from are found images too, does the collectingaspect also apply to your source material?

LMcM I used to work from my own photographs, but one day I decided I wanted to

paint a polar bear, and it wasnt feasible for me to take the photo myself. So since that

Ive been using Google image search. Its like having a photographic memory. Excepteverything is slightly different to how you remember it. I have folders of source material

saved on my computer, they are often poor quality, but act as a good starting point.The vastness of information on the internet means I have used images from many

different sources, including a pregnancy blog, and stills from youtube videos. I thinkscrolling through pages of thumbnails provides a bombardment of images, that

echoes the found nature of the objects I work on.

OP What can you tell us about your process in

general? Give us some insight into how you work

LMcM My work is quite process based, I sit at my desksurrounded by clutter, and develop ideas I have

either stored in my brain, or in my notebook. There isa playfulness in my approach to making paintings,

and my studio has been compared to a laboratory.

There is work everywhere, paintings balance on other

paintings, and pieces leaning on the ledge of theskirting board. I tend to use every available space. Thework is small scale, but when presented collectively

they play off against one another. My work tacklesthe boundaries between real and illusory, presenting

the works as artefacts are an import parallel to mypaintings.

OP Are there any artists out there that you reallyadmire and maybe inuence you?

LMcM I was really impressed by a Fergus Feehily show

I saw in the Douglas Hyde Gallery recently. I alsoadmire Thomas Mailaenders work. Hes a French artist

Ive come across recently. And Hank Schmidt in DerBeek, because hes funny.

There is workeverywhere,

paintingsbalanceon other

paintings,and piecesleaning onthe ledge ofthe skirtingboard


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If thestudio isbusy, Ifeel moreinclinedto make

work

OPYou won the Contact Studio Bursary in college and youve also been working inWickham Street Studios since last year, was it important for you to keep working in a studio

environment and do you think that being able to work alongside other artists is important

to developing your practice, especially after college?

LMcM Its great for bouncing ideas around, and for motivation. If the studio is busy, I feelmore inclined to make work. I was lucky to get a space in Contact Studios, which was a

great space for the transition from college to real life. Then the Wickham experience ledto the involvement with Occupy Space, which has been invaluable. And it feels like we

have really contributed to the art scene in Limerick.


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OP You had an exhibition recently in Belfast, how did that come about? Are you lookingforward to starting the MFA in Belfast this year?

LMcM I submitted a proposal to Queen Street Studios Gallery, and having the show there

in July was a great introduction to what Belfast will be like when I move up in Septemberfor the MFA.


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Occupy Paper40

[email protected]

CCUPY

Disclaimer: Occupy Paper is free and makes no prot from the publication of any materials

found therein. Occupy Paper is a publication for the dissemination of artistic ideas and willnot be liable for any offense taken by any individual(s) resulting from any material contained

therein.All images in Occupy Paper are the sole property of their creators unless otherwisestated. No image in the magazine or the magazine logo may be used in any way withoutpermission of the copyright holder.Submissions: All works submitted to Occupy Paper must be the sole, original property of thecontributor(s), have the appropriate model releases, and cannot interfere with any otherpublication or companys publishing rights.

Occupy Paper is edited by Aoife Flynn, Occupy Space/Wickham Street Studios, Limerick,Ireland.

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