Trespass is a collaborative project that engages research and action with forgotten urban space, abandoned landscapes and sites under transformation within Dublin City. Trespass is a response to neglected green sites in the city, overlooked they have become diverse ecologically and in their urban uses.  Over a period of 4 years Aoife Desmond & Seoidín O'Sullivan have worked with several sites in Dublin City. Methods of intervention in these sites include film, photography, sound  and live actions. This investigative art project combines social research with poetic action.

Phase I

In May of 2005 Aoife Desmond, Seoidín O'Sullivan and Gillian Kane initiated a series of exploratory visits to several abandoned sites in Dublin City Center. These visits took place once a week at dawn (5am) for an hour. Four sites were chosen and visited in rotation for a period of two months. Actions included drawing, clearing, planting, rearrangement of debris and photographic documentation. Post site visit discussions and meetings to look at the documentation also took place. This initial process was improvisational and investigative. When Gillian decided to leave at the end of June 2005 this initial phase came to an end.

Phase II :Final Works

Seoidín O'Sullivan and Aoife Desmond resumed work on Trespass in Autumn 2005. Over the next three years they repeatedly visited two sites 'forest site' and 'hoarding site' off Military Road in Kilmainham. This time they decided to use working methods that did not alter the sites in any way but rather worked with the sites inherent qualities. Temporal performance actions are juxtaposed with documented exploration.  This period of work has resulted in eight finished projection pieces in slide and video. Aoife and Seoidín have collaborated with Sven Anderson (sound), Ed Cunniffe(camera) and Aoibheann O'Sullivan(editing) in the realisation of these works.

Phase II :Research

Surplus to the final works are the margins of these actions. Numerous visits did not result in finished works but brought up interesting material and possible strands of investigation. Research works include photographic documentation of the filming and the sound recording. The line between what becomes the artwork and what remains research is blurred.

Phase III

The sites investigated in Phase 1 & 2  have qualities specific to their location and time. They are also part of a wider dialogue about the function of urban wasteland. For Phase 3, Seoidín and Aoife wish to broaden their area of research by working collaboratively with a range of practitioners. In this way they can compare the implications of wasteland in divergent contexts internationally.

Gallery Talk:

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Stalker/Observatorie Nomade are an architectural collective based in Rome who explore nomadic possibilities within the urban environment.   For this talk/event Francesco Careri  and Lorenzo Romito will present Stalker/Observatorie. Aoife Desmond and Seoidín O'Sullivan will guide the event. The intention is to create an engaged discussion into the functions and potentials of wasteland sites in cities. 

Reading Group:

• Saturday 21 March 10am -12am
• 'Smithson's tours of decay and entropy"
• 'A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic, New Jersey' Robert Smithson
• 'Entropy made visible' Robert Smithson interview with Alison Sky
• Saturday  4 April 10am -12am
• 'Homelessness and the city'
• 'Home amongst the Weeds' Lucy Lippard
• 'Architecture  of the Evicted' Rosalyn Deutsche
• Saturday 18 April 10am -12am
• 'Rhizomes, nomads and 3 ecologies'
• 'Introduction: Rhizome' from 'A Thousand Plateaus' Deleuze & Guattari
• 'The Three Ecologies' Félix Guattari.

The texts have been chosen because they explore issues relevant to the Trespass project. It is hoped to create an informal setting that encourages debate and challenging new thinking. The reading group will be held in the gallery and hosted by Seoidín And Aoife, refreshments provided. Copies of the texts will be available at reception in The Lab please contact trespassproject@gmail.com if you intend on participating.

Contact: TRESPASSproject@gmail.com  

www.trespass-trespass.blogspot.com