Imaginary North - Hazelwood Demense – Magnetism 2015

June 28 — September 27, 2015
Hazelwood Estate, Sligo
IMAGINARY NORTH
The dust never settles. Accruing in successive, uneven layers,
settling in the crevices of the breeze blocks and concrete, stuck
to dark patches of oil that haven’t quite dried out. Finger marks
pock one corner, a bit of unhurried graffiti still scrawled on a
column and the skid marks of someone driving donuts circle the
open factory floor. The years are readily legible in the torn ends
of the I-beams and gradations of paint, to the sets of particles
sent spinning up in each footstep.
Through the accumulated marks we might read their erratic
histories, finding in the factory building and its immediate
environs a transcription of competing visions of the island
we find ourselves on. We might also wonder how this small
peninsula became the site for such a tangled layering of these
visions. What draws us to a place? And when one visitor has
moved on, how might we find, much less interpret, the imprints
that they have left?
It was Sligo’s port commerce that brought the Cornish sea
merchant William Pollexfen sailing in to the town in the 1830s.
Well, it was also that his cousin, widowed and living in the area,
had previously married into one of the county’s entrepreneurial
families. Marrying her provided the basis for his business
relationship with his new brother-in-law, binding the existing
Sligo milling trade to Pollexfen’s own fleet of ships; the growing
business saw the family become one Sligo’s biggest land owners.
The portraitist John Butler Yeats, who attended school on the
Isle of Man with Pollexfen’s sons, grew obsessed with what he
saw as that family’s almost unconscious proximity to nature, their
melancholic primitivism and suppressed poetry. The Pollexfens
had what he often described as ‘magnetism’, a weightiness which
he saw as a counterbalance to his own family’s buoyant and
fleeting nature. He proposed marriage to the brothers’ sister
Susan only days after meeting her.
Decades later, John and Susan’s oldest son is rowing out into
Lough Gill with his future wife. He has written a poem about a
small island he had seen coming to the lake as a child. The poem,
he feels, is a good start in trying to craft a poetic voice and
rhythm that might be considered his own, and has brought him
some attention and acclaim. He doesn’t, at that point, know that
the poem will become taught in every classroom in the country,
lines that every child has to memorise. He wrote of it, in one
story, that ‘it had seemed good to dream of going away to that
islet.’ That small island in the lake, conjured first as en escapist
fantasy from the busy London streets where he grew up, became
the imagined heartland of the entire country. His use of the past
perfect tense, the ‘had seemed’ in his description, asks a latent
further question: when, then, did that dream stop seeming good?
Rowing now in the lake, though, trying to impress his partner,
he can’t find the island. He gives up, and rows back towards the
Hazelwood forest at the shore.
Another few decades later and a few hundred kilometres south,
the world’s first Free Trade Zone is established. The Shannon
Free Zone provides lower tax rates and exemptions for foreign
companies to set up branches in a business park built adjacent
to Shannon Airport; from its establishment in 1959, the effects
aren’t just another world’s first with the duty-free shop set
up in the airport, but also a precedent of courting foreign
corporations as an economic stimulus. SNIA, a Milanese chemical
and weapons producer, built the factory on the Hazelwood
estate in 1969 to produce nylon yarn; after three years empty,
the factory was re-tooled in 1987 by SaeHan Information Systems
for the production of magnetic VHS tape. SaeHan, a Korean
conglomeration who have produced anything from acoustic
guitars to cars and textiles, were also the first to commercially
produce a portable MP3 player; in 1998 the MPMan, though, was
too early for widespread appeal.
Ten years after the factory closed, strands of the blank
magnetised plastic tape still hang inexplicably from holes in the
ceiling, and winding its way around rocks in the pathway outside:
a film waiting to be made, never to be seen. This small outcrop of
land holds within it a particular nexus of cultural and economic
aspirations, where one system of inscription has successively
made way for another. The set of art works that have temporarily
taken up residence here mark another such turn. Here, early
experiments pushing at the projectable limits of what the then
new VHS might do rustle and murmur alongside a jumbled
mound made from plastic cooling racks used in the making of
the tape itself. An expectant lightning rod sits quietly under the
light of a motorway lamppost, the slowly uneasy idiosyncrasy
of their pairing disrupted only by the thrum of the improbably
suspended, uprooted shaking forest in the next depot. These are
dislocated landmarks, unsettled and wandering.
CURATOR’S INTRODUCTION
In this cavernous site, at a time just before the building is
again taken up and reconfigured, the gathered threads of the
past and the particularities of place have been intertwined
and deliberately crossed. A giant inflatable plane conflates
our current favourite form of air travel with its historical
precedent, an apprehensively bucolic background provided by
the askew, textured portraits of trees painted on panels lining
the factory walls, while outside a recording of the harsh call of
the kookaburra from across the planet echoes into the demesne
forest. The forces of attraction continue to assert their pull; the
projected national desires and economic plans implicit here
might not be halted - but they can be manipulated, bent, or even
ambiguously mocked. In each of the works here, there is an act
to reclaim and re-inscribe the accretions of history, to take the
remnants of politics, myth, and personal experience and offer
means of re-reading them. It’s here, navigating the confused
accumulated marks we might find a different sense of allegiance
and recognition, distributed and uneven reconfigurations that
might begin to take on their own alluring weight.
Magnetism also refers to the slow draw of objects and even
landscape elements towards each other or the centre of the
earth, altering states along the way, like the pull of river water
towards a lake and the peculiar allure of a dynamic individual.
Chris Fite-Wassilak
In the early stages of visiting Hazelwood Estate it felt like
a sleeping behemoth – mimicking one in the neighbouring
landscape – great care should be taken in stirring it awake.
On exploration, the huge videotape ‘pancake’ stores and
welders’ workshop suggested a webbing of slippery narratives
and spectres, from the occupants of the house over the years
(families, soldiers, patients and care workers), to the 600 factory
workers and the myriad performances of content and stories
that would be hosted by the magnetic tape they produced.
MAGNETISM takes its title from the tape that was made here
and disseminated around the world; the ease of its distribution
and recordability enabling huge changes in authoring and
production for artists and film-makers.
The works in this show, some of which are almost outlandish in
scale, address this process of forming and reforming in various
ways, by removing function in order to ‘re-purpose’ or ‘unpurpose’ objects or materials abandoned on site; documenting
and describing the process of decay and re-absorption, and
proposing shaky but ambitious plans for the future of objects.
The artists’ motors, lights, fabric and paint flicker whir and sway
in the huge spaces, as they are deftly and sensitively wrangled to
works which herald a new kind of industry.
Curated by Vaari Claffey, MAGNETISM features the work of
Irish and International artists including Lucy Andrews (UK),
Mikala Dwyer (AUS), Igor Grubic’ (CRO), Siobhán Hapaska (UK),
Aleksandra Mir (SWE/USA), Laura Morrison (UK, FIN) and
Garrett Phelan (IRL).
Vaari Claffey
LUCY ANDREWS
MIKALA DWYER
Floating and Sinking (2013)
Glass tank, water, glass of water, steel
Square Cloud Compound (2015)
Mixed Media
Lucy Andrews was born in Stoke-On-Trent, England and now lives
and works between Dublin and Amsterdam. An NCAD graduate
she is currently studying at the Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam.
Recent projects include Tulca, Galway (2014), Gracelands at IMMA
(2014), Stone Soup, Sailors home, Limerick (2014), Lacuna, Taylor
Galleries, Dublin (2013), The Modelled Conscious, Rua Red (2013).
She will exhibit in What We Call Love, IMMA (2015).
Born in 1959 Mikala Dwyer lives and works in Sydney. She
completed a BA Visual Arts (Sculpture/Sound) at Sydney College
of the Arts in 1983, studied at Middlesex Polytechnic in London in
1986, and completed an MFA at the College of Fine Arts, University
of New South Wales, in 2000. Dwyer ascribes deep symbolic
meaning to the objects and artifacts she works with, evoking them
as spiritual signifiers and using them to herald a community.
Lucy Andrews’s work stems from a fascination with the material
presence of objects, and the potential for subtle transformations
within them. She makes sculptural assemblages and installations
using various liquids, household chemicals, found objects, and
industrial detritus. By engineering tense interactions between
these materials and the forces that act upon them, her work
creates a meeting between the elemental and the quotidian. As
with much of her work, Floating and sinking (2013) at MAGNETISM
uses water as a sculptural material. Half a glass of water floats
precariously within an aquarium, at its centre: a small absence,
which creates a play between liquid and solid, volume and void.
Andrews also presents a large-scale sculpture using blank magnetic
tape that was abandoned when the factory closed in 2005.
Square Cloud Compound (2015) is an architecture of hope and
despair, protection and punishment. The lampstands suggest
totems, bird boxes and gallows. They are built in a constructivist
style, in red, black, and white, some with black-and-white
prison stripes.
www.lucyandrews.net
The structures stand like sentinels guarding and supporting a
space; a clumsy field of colour blocks or a huge pixelated canopy
held by stretchy tortured stockings weighted in their toes with
rocks, black beer, and vodka. All sorts of things hang off themBird boxes, ornaments, lights, plants, mirrors, and charms. The
Bird boxes suggest an inhabitance; arriving or departing. The
ghost of displaced birds might be heard in the woods nearby.
www.mikaladwyer.com
’
IGOR GRUBIC
Monument (2015)
HD Video, 50 min
Igor Grubic’ has been active as a multimedia artist since 1995.
His work includes site-specific interventions in public spaces,
performances, photography and video works. He is known for his
activism and his consideration about public space as a means
of expression. In 2000, he started to work as a producer and
author of documentaries, tv reportages and socially committed
commercials. Grubic’ has exhibited internationally including
Manifesta 4 and 9; Tirana Biennale 2; 50.Oktobarski Salon
Beograd; 11. Istanbul Biennial; 4. Fotofestival, Mannheim; Gwangju
Biennale 20th Anniversary Special Project; Moma PS1, New York.
Monument (2015) was made over five years from 2010-2015. In
Croatia in the 1990s three thousand anti-fascist monuments
were destroyed. Grubic’ originally wanted to make a film which
included interviews about this problem, but the scenario changed
when he saw the monuments again and decided to let them
speak their own story about their ‘metaphysical life’. Although it
may not be visible, several of these monuments were bombed or
partially destroyed. A poetic-experimental documentary about
the condition and ‘life’ of monuments the resulting work creates
an existential, or even spiritual resonance to the political issues
questioning the purpose of monuments today.
SIOBHÁN HAPASKA
Downfall (2009)
Olive tree, slate powder in resin, fibre glass, soil, steel cable,
rigging components
Siobhán Hapaska was born in 1963 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Often difficult to categorise, her work is a poetic play of imagery
and ideas that forge discordant connections. A complex and
interwoven narrative is articulated through a wide vocabulary
of materials incorporating extraordinary objects ranging from
olive trees to magnets, tumbleweeds to selenite. Hapaska’s solo
exhibitions include Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
(2015); Magasin 3, Stockholm (2014); Camden Arts Centre, London
(2007); Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (2001, 2011); Sezon Museum of Art,
Tokyo (1999) and Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York (1997, 2010).
In 1997 she took part in Documenta X. She represented Ireland
at the 2001 Venice Biennale and showed with the Azerbaijan
Pavilion in 2015.
For MAGNETISM Hapaska presents Downfall (2009-2015), a work
which consists of eleven olive trees hanging horizontally in
space and continuously shaking throughout the duration of the
exhibition. In Greek mythology, the olive tree symbolizes the
birth of Western civilization. The trees also possess symbolic
value for Islam, Christianity and Judaism.
http://www.kerlingallery.com/artists/siobhn-hapaska
ALEKSANDRA MIR
LAURA MORRISON
Plane Landing (2003 — events ongoing)
Helium inflatable balloon
Sir You Will Doubtless Be Astonished (2015)
Plasticine, wax, ink, chalk pastel, graphite, mdf, steel
Aleksandra Mir (SWE, USA) lives in London. Mir’s vision for
Plane Landing centers on the creation of a purpose-designed
helium balloon in the shape and size of a passenger jet plane,
suspended above the ground in a permanent state of landing.
Laura Morrison (UK, FIN) graduated from the MFA at Goldsmiths
in 2012 and is currently based in London. Recent projects include
Bottom Natures at Cafe Gallery Projects, London; The Conch
at The South London Gallery; Vivian, Cape Town at CANAL/
Furnished Space, London and How To Read World Literature at
The Public School, New York. In 2014 she organised Concerning
The Bodyguard, a large-scale exhibition and events programme at
The Tetley, Leeds. Forthcoming exhibitions in 2015 include Open
Sessions at The Drawing Center, New York; BeingRes at Enclave,
London and Safe at HOME in Manchester.
Originally commissioned by Michael Stanley for the Compton
Verney House trust in 2003, Plane Landing is based on a simple
conceit, where the primitive technologies of balloon travel
masquerade as a high-tech jet plane. Yet its engineering presents
more than one fundamental paradox: how to make a balloon,
using material that is lighter than air, in the shape of an object
which was originally designed to carry over 400 tonnes of
steel; how to balance a balloon in the form of a cross, when the
perfect shape to sustain the elements is a sphere; how to tether
the plane firmly to the ground, when its perfect aerodynamic
shape will want it to fly. These challenges have taken the project
out of the realm of aesthetics and into the fields of science,
aeronautics, engineering and design.
http://aleksandramir.info
Morrison’s work in writing and material gesture examines the
awkward clashes between what it means to be vulnerable and
what it means to be accountable. Drawn from personal and
professional networks – the stories and subjects that emerge
from the work often involve real-life, gendered power struggles.
For MAGNETISM, Morrison has been commissioned to develop
a new series of large-scale wax relief paintings. Six huge panels
function as oversize head-shots or calling cards of local trees –
activating an absurd pull between melancholy landscape painting
and the inherent camp of self promotion.
www.lauramorrison.co.uk
GARRETT PHELAN
SCREENING PROGRAMME
Electromagnetica – finial in perpetuum (2015)
Galvanised steel, low level sodium lamp, copper, paint
MAGNETISM is accompanied by a screening programme to reflect
the history of the factory as a producer of VHS tape.
Garrett Phelan (1965 Dublin), has developed a distinctive visual
language & mode of engagement through ambitious, sitespecific projects that include independent FM radio broadcasts,
sculptural installations and animation. He has exhibited widely in
Ireland & internationally, with recent solo shows at Project Arts
Centre, Dublin, 2015; IMMA, Dublin 2012; and group exhibitions
at EVA International 2014; Palais des Beau-Arts de Bruxelle 2013;
ICA, London 2012; 11th Lyon Biennial, 2011.
This programme has been produced in collaboration with a
team of researcher/curators, each with a particular focus and
approach, to demonstrate the breadth of visual and conceptual
material that has been generated by artists in this format. It is
not a rigorous historical survey, more a set of selections drawn
together under the headings PLAY, REWIND and FAST FORWARD.
Phelan’s commission for MAGNETISM is situated in a specific
unlit space at the disused Snia/Saehan factory in Sligo; he was
inspired by the purity of the metaphysical/physical archaeology
of this space. Electromagnetica – finial in perpetuum creates a
physical dialogue between two standing objects situated in this
vertical darkened vault. One object, a tall motorway lamp that
emits low level electric sodium light illuminates the other, an
obsolete lightening rod once used at the site fixed to a copper
pole. Their installation in this industrial space draws the viewer
into a physically emotive experience that exists beyond their
functionality, a typical strategy in Phelan’s work. This piece was
produced in collaboration with Kevin Murphy (Shadow Creations),
Cormac Healy and James Healy (Brass Founders Engineers)
www.garrettphelan.com
The researchers are:
Adelaide Bannerman (UK)
Jen Kratochvil (CZ)
Suman Gopinath (IN)
Rachael Rakes (USA)
Stanislav Welbel (PL)
A detailed programme of screenings will be available at the venue
and on www.hazelwoodhouse.ie
ABOUT THE CURATOR
PARTNERS AND THANKS
Vaari Claffey is an independent visual arts curator and writer
based in Dublin. She teaches at IADT, Dublin and on MA Art
in the Contemporary World, NCAD Dublin. She is founder/
Director of Gracelands, a recurring one-day festival-style visual
arts event comprising film, sculpture and performance. Recent
projects include an iteration of Gracelands at IMMA July 2014
and at EVA, Limerick in 2012.
Marie Louise Blaney
Katherine Claffey
Austin Crowe
Dublin City Council Arts Office/Victoria Kearney
David and Olive Corbin
Aoife Flynn
Tessa Giblin
Lisa Godson
James Healy/Brass-Founders Engineers
Kimchee Restaurant, Dublin/Kyoung Lee
Ronnie Hughes
Jesse Jones
IMMA/Sarah Glennie, Rachael Thomas & Janice Hough
Dejan Kaludjerovic’
Seamus Kealy
Vinnie Kelly
Sam Keogh
Kerlin Gallery/Darragh Hogan
Tom Kitt
The Mens’ Shed/Noel McGrath
The Model/Megan Arney Johnson Sarah Pierce
Becky Raethorne
Shadow Creations/Kevin Murphy
Kathy Scott
SSA architects/Shane Santry & Lee Connolly
Temple Bar Gallery and Studios/Clíodhna Shaffrey
Grace Weir & Joe Walker
All those involved in the development of Hazelwood Estate
ABOUT THE VENUE
Hazelwood House, an important Palladian mansion, was
constructed in the 1730’s to the designs of Richard Castle
(1695-1751), architect of Leinster House, Powerscourt House and
Westport House. The building is constructed of limestone ashlar
with slate roofs. It consists of a five-bay by three-bay main block
in three storeys with two-storey wings on either side, connected
to the main block by single-storey quadrants. The house was
occupied by the Wynne family from the early 18th century until
the 1920’s. It was sold to the state in 1937. During the next thirty
years the House went on to serve as both a military barracks and
psychiatric hospital.
W.B. Yeats has a strong connection to Hazelwood; it was the
inspiration of one of his most famous poems: The Song of
Wandering Aengus. “I went out to the hazel wood, Because a fire
was in my head, And cut and peeled a hazel wand, And hooked a
berry to a thread.”
The factory in which MAGNETISM is presented was originally built
on the Hazelwood estate for Italian nylon manufacturer Snia in
1969. Snia closed down in 1983 and the premises were sold to
Korean company Saehan Media Ireland Limited who opened
their Sligo plant in 1991. One of the world’s top suppliers of
magnetic tape Saehan at one point employed over 500 people;
making it one of the biggest manufacturing employers in the
west of Ireland at that time. The Sligo plant closed it in April 2006
following the dramatic decline in the videotape market.
Project Director/Curator Vaari Claffey
Facilities Manager Oliver Alcorn
Producer Mary Cremin
Maintenance Manager Noel Fogarty
Head Technician Antoinette Emoe
A/V Technician Edmond Kiely
VISIT
MAGNETISM at Hazelwood Estate
Sunday 28 June — Sunday 27 September 2015.
Open Tue — Sun, 12pm — 7pm. Closed Mondays.
Admission is €2.50 per adult, €2.00 for Seniors and Students
in full time education. Children under 12 are free of charge.
Free admission for Sligo residents on the first Tuesday of every month, please
bring something that has your name and address on it for proof of residence.
HAZELWOOD CAFE
There is a newly opened Hazelwood Cafe on site, with BB’s
muffins and coffee, picnic-boxes for kids and korean lunch boxes
specially prepared for Hazelwood by NY Jung, an engineer and
former employee of Saehan media, who is opening a Korean
restaurant in Sligo in July 2015.
CONNECT/SHARE
Connect with us online, share your experience of the exhibition
by using the hashtag #MAGNETISM15
HazelwoodExhibitions
@HazelwoodSligo
HazelwoodSligo
www.hazelwoodhouse.ie