NM: Niamh
JK: Julia

NM: Hi Julia,

JK: Hi Niamh,

JK: you will find my comments and thoughts appearing in this colour!

NM: I hope you're well! I'm starting to feel a little caged in now but I'm ok and trying to focus on work to distract myself!

JK: Thanks-I’m doing well so far – trying to spend more time reading and writing than in the internet haha. Hope you had a good Easter weekend? You can call me at anytime in case you need a person to chat.

NM: Thank you love!

NM: I have just re-read the proposal for Belfast and it's actually not as bad as I remember it to be. I was thinking perhaps what we could do is expand a bit on the opposition of form and no-thing-ness. I think perhaps this was something that you had already mentioned when you were talking about in between spaces? Perhaps?

JK: Indeed, I still really like the exhibition proposal, the topic and how our works will come together. Yes, that’s (form and nothingness) a good idea to add! Indeed, in my last mail I wrote about the spaces in between our works which is something I’m really interested in within my own practice but also for exhibitions and presentations of works in general. I think that part could be something interesting for curators / the team of Nicholson Street as well – while reading our proposal I always get this feeling that our group show can’t be realised by just showing individual works with titles and names and stuff – there needs to be an atmosphere between them and the space. I also think of different characters or protagonists and that they can appear and disappear by following traces of works or practices. What comes to my mind are three pieces which I list here in order to visualise my thoughts a bit:


Tatiana Trouvé @ Kunstmuseum Bonn – working with the architecture of the museum and out of a very sculptural perspective on haunting and memory related to space and objects:

NM: While looking at Trouve's work I began to think more about the presentation of the works and I agree I really like the idea of different characters or narratives. I guess we could invite the curators to mediate the spaces between the works and explore this has either a thread/narrative or additional work within the exhibition. This could be realised in lots of different ways perhaps creating more of a dialogue between multiple works in order to create that landscape I mentioned in my previous email. Perhaps we collaborate with Nicholson st to create this landscape where these protagonists can become more pronouced in relation to the physical space of the gallery.

JK: Philippe Parreno @ Martin-Gropius Bau, Berlin

JK: This exhibition was quite “ghosty” in a literal way but I like that he was working with electricity in the space and that he added “unnatural elements” like water to the exhibition space. What I still like about the exhibition is that my visit still results in a very physical memory.

JK: Also from a curatorial point of view it could be interesting to re-think how works are usually presented – ideally in bright artificial light and white space because the visual parts are dominating – just an idea but it might be interesting to work with modes of interferences within the space?

NM: Yes definitely like the idea of the curators working on the space to respond to the works that we have made as its usually the other way around that the artist responds to the space. There could be a meeting halfway perhaps. I was thinking of doing a site specific drawing as part of the application. It would be really nice to work with the curators or someone else in the group to realise and expand this in some way. We could paint walls or change the colour of the light in certain rooms I guess? The building itself to me feels like it is already stratified that is it is arranged in layers....each floor could have different lighting? Create different atmospheres/landscapes/thought-scapes on different levels. Dividing the space up using different methods - curtains/screens etc. Shift the view of a sterile atmosphere in which art has to exist. Something similar to this from a lighting perspective http://www.kerlingallery.com/exhibitions/jaki-irvine_3 It's not the best example but a slightly diff approach to a commercial gallery space.
We make certain things difficult to see...dark corners to be discovered.

JK: Ed Atkins – Old Food @ also: Martin-Gropius Bau, Berlin (exhibition text and presentation, interaction of different media)

JK: This exhibition was very sophisticated – every medium interacted which each other – the flyer, exhibition text, videos, history, costumes – which guided the way of the spectators through the exhibition and were set up in a very certain way – e.g. way to close to watch the video in total – you were really forced to come close by the screen.

NM: This is probably another place where we can ask Nicholson St to collaborate with us on. Creating a flow between all the elements within the show and around the show. Perhaps we can view each element of the exhibition (flyer/poster/publication/lighting/etc) as discreet works in themselves rather than reproducing what's already in the gallery space? Nicholson st could work with us as a group to achieve this flow/narrative/rhythm.

JK: (I really like the grammar part and the lyrical in between us – that could be something Caitlyn might be interested as she suggested writing text about our works? I think this text could work as a grammar in between us) – also very interesting: the missing body part and emptyness

NM: Yes this really really appeals to me. Perhaps these texts could form the publication. Caitlyn could write a narrative for the exhibition space to evoke sensation and feeling and help create an atmosphere rather than the usual dry art speak 'explanation' of the work.

JK: This is one example of an exhibition text piece but it feels a little bit out of context to show it here in this mail but just to give you an idea: - - - - -------- - - - - --------------- >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

JK: While writing this, I get the feeling that we just need to add some details of what interests us in showing our work together in the context of this space and working with their team (as Aga mentioned). Additionally, we could add some questions or a small paragraph which shows that our thoughts are still flexible and that we have material to work on (mentioning the glue page and Caitlyn and the idea of creating a grammar between us?). I think it will be very productive to work with a curatorial team on our ideas and thoughts helping us to bring the pieces together.

NM: Agreed! I think we don't have to add to the applicaiton too much more other than to explain how we would like to work with Nicholson St to realise a more immersive experience.

NM: I've just read a post by that archaeologist Kenny Brophy: https://theurbanprehistorian.wordpress.com/ I've also added it to the hotglue page that Lois set up. It's definitely worth a read and also covers so many of the ideas we have been discussing in some ways but could also be a useful way to help us perhaps frame our proposal to Nicholson street in relation to the Coronavirus stuff that's currently going on.

I liked this line very much:

" The contemporary past is where the past now resides, all of it, and we are making new pasts on a daily basis."

NM: I think it speaks a lot to the context of the original proposal as well as the work of most of the group.

JK: I agree – this point could be a starting phrase for a new paragraph and our thoughts above? It might be worth to read a little bit more about the concept of time - also realted to exhibitions, attention, our daily lifes (right now) and how time could be used as a curatorial tool as well?

NM: Funny you should mention this I am suddenly doing a lot of reading and thinking about time. I'm sure we probably are all thinking about time a bit more these days...how we spend our time, time as a resource etc. This is an interesting article about different types of time in relation to the Cosmos: https://footnotes2plato.com/2015/05/15/minding-time-chronos-kairos-and-aion-in-an-archetypal-cosmos/

NM: Maybe we should perhaps think of the proposal in terms of form and the distance between forms. What fills the distance between those forms? The energy that separates us all right now as we are together while being apart. The collapse of the invisible structures of our world that we felt their influence but perhaps will not be there tomorrow - certain institutions or work places or economies for example.

JK: Indeed, as mentioned above I think it could be productive to include a more fragmented paragraph including the thoughts above so that they get the feeling that they ‘re still able to shape our concept in terms of curating. Also, I was wondering if there could be a guide of looking at our work and how people are guided through the space. More precise I think of the following elements of the space: open and closed doors, spaces which aren’t accessible (offices, storages), the stair case(!) and how this stair case connects all the rooms and which plays always a big role in terms of how people enter room by room. I was also thinking where to start the exhibition? Could there be an outdoor element? Is there an order of rooms because usually all the exhibitions are set up quite linear starting on the ground floor leading to the top floor. Is there a possibility of disturbing this order or linear “experiencing”?

NM:I think some of the strategies I mention above could be methods to do that. This is definitely something that we can include in the proposal that we are interested in disturbing or challenging the linear experiencing of a show. We would like to collaborate with the curators to be able to do so. Treating all elements within and peripheral to the exhibition as discreet works including the narrative that guides the user through the exhibition. Start at the top of the building and flow downwards or do not end the show in the building but outside the building for example beside the clyde.
We could also think of the exhibtion in terms of a particular landscape that we are presenting in a very particular (post COVID - hopefully) moment. The exhibition is a contemporary/recent past landscape of human-material-immaterial interaction.

JK: I’m a little bit concerned of including COVID in our exhibition proposal because everything is so unsure and I believe there won’t be a sudden post Covid moment this year… but we could include what you wrote above:

“The energy that separates us all right now as we are together while being apart. The collapse of the invisible structures of our world that we felt their influence but perhaps will not be there tomorrow - certain institutions or work places or economies for example. “

I really like the subtle connection and reflection about the situation we are all in now which might be already strong enough to mention? What do you think?

NM: Yeah I definitely don't want to make a specific reference to COVID at all but the more the collapse of invisible structures that have been so powerful up until now. I guess that also demonstrates how powerful things that we cannot always see really are. That we are in every moment creating our past in our present - the contemporary past that Brophy mentions in his paper.