Road trip complete yesterday. Day for friends and family today. Did do some reconnaissance. 
Reflections from a series of four residencies completed by Micheál O'Connell at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre in 2021 and 2022 to create new work in response to an Arts Council Commissions Award granted in 2020. Initially the work forms a solo exhibition, 'System Interference', which opened at Uillinn on 17th Sep. 2022, and will then, thanks to Touring and Dissemination funding, travel to Wexford Arts Centre (from Aug. 2023) and Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda (opening Nov. 2023).
Monday, July 11, 2022
Residency 4, Day 19: 'The story comes to an end, but not the characters, who live on, happily ever after doing whatever they do in their post-narrational insignificance.' - Arthur Danto
Saturday, July 9, 2022
Friday, July 8, 2022
Residency 4, Day 17: 'The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.' - Hans Hofmann (mathematician etc.)
What an interesting day, working with WE ARE HERE, a group of curator-teacher-artists, who also skydived into discussions about the Highlanes space with Aoife Ruane, saw elements of, and gave thoughts on, the System Interference work, and, finally, showed their own work.
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Residency 4, Day 16: 'With monologue and voice-over you can give anything a voice, even a stone or a piece of seaweed.' - Orla Barry
A busy, stimulating day, to begin with discussing much with Catherine Bowe in Wexford,
then crossing the country diagonally via Kilkenny, stopping along the way for further video calls, to eventually pick up a box of work in Galway, right where we used to swim, and where dad was a kind of lifeguard, and the skin and blister Cecily used to boldly jumped from the top of Blackrock diving board, no problem.
And then back in the Drogheda direction
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Residency 4, Day 14: 'Speaking can be enjoyable, frightening, alienating, persuasive, politicising. Sculpting is generally expensive but extremely satisfying to watch people interact with.' - Eimear Walshe
Art, Misuse and Technology: Micheál O’Connell’s ‘System Interference’. Photo Sylwia Migdal, 2022
Monday, July 4, 2022
Residency 4, Day 13: 'Good taste is as tiring as good company.' - Francis Picabia
Whilst today was productive, there is much to be done. Was in the company of seemingly relaxed genius Stephen Canty for whom most challenges are easily and efficiently overcome. Spoke to Philosopher of Aesthetics John Roberts about some exciting writing he is doing. More about that in due course. The brilliance and faultiness of Flann O'Brien was given attention. His writing, like so manys', missed out on the existence of women. Had an exchange with Caroline Bassett who has just published Anti-Computing (dissent against the machine): https://library.oapen.org/
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Residency 4, Day 12: 'The title... is another colour on the artist's palette.' - Marcel Duchamp
Title or Working Title Year Likely Gallery Location
- Go Find Yourself 2022 Reception area
- Insecurity Camera Dance 2021 Reception area
- Irish Sigs (More PODS) 2019 Reception area
- Soi-veillance 2021 Reception area
- Uillinn Pipes 2022 Gallery 1 (low)
- Typical Cross Section 2022 Gallery 1 (low)
- Array 2022 Gallery 1 (low)
- Boring 2 (Drive-by) 2021 Gallery 1 (low)
- Inflatable Wind Turbines 2021 Gallery 2 (high)
- Stupid Plugs 2022 Gallery 2 (high)
- Battery Powered Wind Farm 2022 Gallery 2 (high)
- #camponagolfcourse Tent 2021 Gallery 2 (high)
- #camponagolfcourse Poster 2021 Gallery 2 (high)
- You are Trespassing 2021 Gallery 2 (high)
- Turbogolf Proposal 2022 Gallery 2 (high)
- Autofocus Feedback Loop 2021 Gallery 2 (high)
- Insecurity Guards 2021 Gallery 2 (high)
- Immersive Interactive Installation 2021 Gallery Lift
- Signage 1 2022 Gallery Lift
- Insurance 2021 Stairs/hall spaces Right side of Uillinn
- Turbine Kick 2020 Stairs/hall spaces Right side of Uillinn
- Battery Power 2021 Mezzanine
- Solar Power 2021 Mezzanine
- Wind Power 2022 Mezzanine
- Hand Power 2022 Mezzanine
- Making Wind 2019 Mezzanine
- Dutch Stamp 2020 Mezzanine
- Turbogolfing Real 2021 Stairs/hall spaces Left side of Uillinn
- Turbogolfing 2019 Stairs/hall spaces Left side of Uillinn
- Turbogolfing Still 2021 Stairs/hall spaces Left side of Uillinn
- Signage 2 2022 Toilet opposite Studio 1
- Reserection (Easter Rising) 2022 Toilet opposite Studio 1
- Spare Balls 2021 Toilet opposite Studio 1
- This is Not a Ball on a Pipe 2021 Toilet opposite Studio 1
- Killed Negative 2021 Outside Uillinn
- Loading Bay, and the rest... 2022 Online
Saturday, July 2, 2022
Residency 4, Day 11: 'Neoliberalism destroys society by proliferating neighbourhoods.'' - Wendy Hui Kyong Chun
Another busy day on the frontline, still thinking about whether to involve a Sky Dancer. More: https://www.google.com/search?q=sky+dancer&sxsrf=ALiCzsbNyC9rydb1FUgyCB8ZXO44f1Kriw:1656786676411&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJncOq69r4AhWWR8AKHTHVBEEQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1440&bih=732&dpr=2. The word gimmick popped up, in a big way today too.
Friday, July 1, 2022
Residency 4, Day 10: 'There is no problem, because there is no solution.' - Shigeko Kubota
My father and Flann O'Brien's brother, artist Micheál Ó Nualláin, worked together. The two connected in their scepticism towards the first inklings of neoliberalism, which presented itself in the form of an alien new concept in the civil service, 'the deadline'. Ó Nualláin was fond of my dad because he had stood by him during attempts to nudge him out of a role (or sack him I think). In gratitude, when Ó Nualláin retired, he gave my dad this illustration which I have in my studio:
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