JULY to OCTOBER 2010

When the Degree Show was over, according to the photos, I did very little on clearing the ensuing chaos.

Some of the items we unpacked were again hung on the walls, this time to make sure they weren't lost in the confusion Mark2.

 
 This time it was the hallway that we hung them in, and for a while, they provided a talking point with visitors.


Inevitably, with time, we stopped seeing them - I hate that this happens - it seems to bear out that old saying that I don't want to be true:
"Familiarity breeds contempt"


Tony and I travelled a bit, and both entertained and visited relatives.



This image dated August 2 is the only early view I have of the front room at this time. Much worse was to come.

It was in August also, that I decided to volunteer as an invigilator at The Model/Niland Gallery in Sligo. I wonder was I trying to cover up the physical chaos by stealing time from myself to make this all day trip each week?
As it happens, it was a good decision, and during my year there, I saw first class exhibitions week after week.

And the sun shone gloriously many of the days - who would want to be enclosed with chaos when the sun shone like this?








My favourite naturally was ANGELOLOGY by Ilya and Emilia KABAKOV. I even got to meet them and their grandchildren briefly.





 Actually, what was most on my mind at this time was preparing for the Contemporary Art  Exhibition in the RDS. As I mentioned before, the CCTV rig motor had burned out during the DEGREE SHOW, so I was working on a different solution to the problem of how to make the camera turn first in one direction, and then in the opposite direction.


This video shows me experimenting with manually spinning it. An additional difficulty was the flaw in the VDR box which didn't record what the CCTV could see.






 You can see how I was just using what was available, that is the hook already in the hall ceiling to support a mobile of ceramic bells - these bells provide a gentle addition to the soundtrack of the video.

Even though I couldn't save what the camera's could see, here is a shot of how the 4 x images looked in the monitor.






It was about this time that there was a halt in my work due to family illness and bereavement. Sometimes it takes an unexpected shock to get my perspective right. Art may be hugely important to me, but people are always paramount.



By the end of October, I was back in harness again. The rig has been re-designed, and is now suspended in the front room, where you can see the boxes and stuff in the background as I seek to figure out what to do next.






The video shows how the rig works. It also show some of what the front room looked like at this time, that is shortly before the exhibition at the RDS in early November.