Welcome to the Neighbourhood 2013
17–29 June, Askeaton

In eleven locations throughout the town, Freek Wambacq made An Askeaton Poem, placing objects used by Foley artists to synthesise sound for TV and film into the everyday fabric of Askeaton, creating unexpected juxtapositions through their presence and the language used to describe each work. Top to bottom: Earthslide in Bank of Ireland. Electric toothbrush; Gust of wind in Cois Sionna Credit Union. Nylon cloth, bicycle; Walking in Snow in the Tourist Information Office. Boxes of cornflour; Galloping horses in Ranahan’s Bar. Halved coconut shells.

aiPotu’s (Anders Kjellesvik & Andreas Siqueland) Shower was located on the Clareen stream in the midst of Askeaton town, and offered open air bathing to the public through a sculptural installation made of recycled timber and featuring Norwegian Pine soap. Shower Shop, a display at Mary Moore’s shop, features some objects that reflect the innovation of aiPotu’s scheme.

Marie Roux’s interests in geology and the various roles that stones and rock find around the Askeaton area resulted in Flying Stones, a series of photographs detailing a local limestone quarry, alongside documentation of a night-time encounter and pyrotechnic intervention with Samson’s Stone, a site often referred to in local folklore and located south of Askeaton. These images were displayed in Tierney Moran’s Hardware Store where they took on an almost utilitarian role, as if they could be used as tools, materials, or even adhesives to measure, split or hold together Askeaton itself.

Michelle Browne’s Walk, Jump, Leap, Soar consisted of video and photographs documenting performances enacted in locations such as local swimming spot The Leap, a trampoline in Pat Fitzgerald’s garden and Askeaton Swimming Club’s diving board into the Deel. Utilising photographic approaches pioneered by Eadweard Muybridge, Browne’s work allegorically focused on the uncertainties of motherhood, finding a public role for such concerns to be discussed and played out.