ArchiveTalks & Events
Talk, Book Launch
GOT DAMP - book launch
7 Dec 2023 7-11pm
TACO!
London SE2 9FA
Credit: Avril Corroon
Overview
GOT DAMP was a project developed by artist Avril Corroon from research into living conditions as a galvanising issue for communities in exercising their political voice.
To mark the launch of a publication that documents GOT DAMP, Avril Corroon will present a screening of her film made through the project, alongside in person readings from writer Daisy Lafarge and artist Eimear Murphy.
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GOT DAMP represents an ambitious act of solidarity. At the heart of Avril Corroon’s material enquiry was an ongoing exchange over 2 years with 55 households from London and Dublin who joined through activities and workshops, and via an invitation to members of the Community Action Tenants Union Ireland. Energy efficient dehumidifiers and support to manage damp was provided, whilst households contributed experiences, ideas and collected their damp as a material for an artwork.
A total volume of 1800L in water was collected and gifted to the project. This was then exhibited at TACO! and Project Arts Centre, Dublin in 2023, as part of an expansive installation which included an artist film.
The publication, GOT DAMP collates documentation of research, process, installation images, interviews, poetry and responses from writers, half of whom were project participants. Contributors include Mat Jenner, curator of artist-led space TACO! introduces Got Damp, its contexts and critical scope. Julian Bernard reflects on the project's process in relation to collective action, community and damp in their home. Chris Fite-Wassilak examines contradictions of modern living under the scope of rot and microbial terroir. Kirsten Cooke charts damps’ fluid coordinates through buildings and bodies. Daisy Lafarge presents a selection of poems ‘understudies for air’ and Eimear Murphy asks what is reciprocity.
This book is published by TACO! and was supported by Arts Council Ireland and Lottery funding through Arts Council England.
Copies of the book will be available to buy from TACO!
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Avril Corroon is an Irish artist who lives and works in London. She works across moving image, performance, and sculpture, combining collaboration, social engagement, absurd humour, and political insight to form compelling visual and material narratives that explore contemporary lived experience.
She was the recipient of the Freelands Foundation Bursary, and the Next Generation Award by the Irish Arts Council in 2020. She has exhibited and performed widely including TACO! (London), Peer Gallery (London), Project Arts Centre (Dublin), the Lab Gallery (Dublin), Platform Arts (Belfast), Temple Bar Gallery (Dublin), Ormston House (Limerick), Irish Film Institute, and Sismógrafo (Portugal).
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