9 to 5 residency

This project is the result of an open call for a series of one day residencies in PS². Artists, architects and creative practitioners were invited to sent in a proposal, how they would use the space between 9am and 5pm; for performance, research, office work, hide out, craft workshop, studio, cinema, museum, living room, shop or observatory… The many proposals PS² received were all very different, surprising and intense. They play with the notion of a semi private/public space, the relationship to passers-by and the exposure to the street. They address the question, how an activity shapes a space and how the environment shapes the activity- may it be a yoga class, research into Spanish Art History or drawings with tape. ‘9 to 5 residency’ follows the bureaucratic pattern of a working day and imitates the ritual of opening hours in galleries and museums. Art production and art distribution however doesn’t follow the same pattern. Creative processes normally require private space and individual time schedules. All residencies will therefore have a performative and staged layer, but will still give an insight into the work process, the various set-ups of a workplace and of course the individual work. This project is fast spinning and demands spontaneity, speed and playfulness. Like fast moving stills, it may demonstrate the wide scope of creative activities and the way these shape a space and our changing perception. ‘9 to 5 residency’ underlines the need for creative practitioners to have a dedicated workplace and to be allowed to develop their ideas. It also quite literally exposes the various relationships between ideas, concepts and ‘real life’ outside the shop windows. It might be that one can find more reality in the work inside the space than outside.

9 to 5 residencies- TIMETABLE

Tuesday, 03.11
Susan McBride

'My work is primarily site specific in response to architecture. I will make use of corners, partitions, cracks and ceilings when producing the work. Employment of knit and craft cause the artwork I create to grow much like a performance.’

Wednesday, 04.11
Michael Hanna

‘Bring a large amount of cardboard boxes to the space, cut text and symbols from these and insert them into other boxes to produce statements and pictures. Display boxes in stacks in various locations.’

Thursday, 05.11
Fionnuala Doran: Ideation

‘… use PS² as space to continuously generate ideas between the hours of 9 to 5. In short, to produce as many single paragraph or single image ideas, all on single sheets of notebook paper, as possible. For example, the artist will generate narratives such as ' In an elaborate suicide bid, a man travels  back in time to kill his father'.
Upon completion this narrative will be ripped off the block and pinned to the gallery wall. A narrative can be no longer than a paragraph and an image must fit onto a single page. Visitors are free to take any idea that they want…’

Friday, 06.11
Laura Graham: OiReAChLE

'In times of economic uncertainty people have turned to prophesy for reassurance, to create hope and reduce fear and uncertainty………… and so appears THE OiReAChLE OF BELFAST divines on the one day when the Veils between the worlds are thinnest.'

Saturday, 07.11
Kevin Walsh: Sur_Veil

'Given my background in architecture, I am interested mostly in highlighting space activated by surveillance, and the complex layers of psychological, technical, and legal meaning which the space becomes imbued with. The installation seeks to make physical the trace of what is observed by surveillance, and thereby make physical the space being observed.'

Monday, 09.11
John McKeown/Pia Munita: Cell

‘An exploration of the factory that is the cell. A game of chance will decide whether a created organism survives or succumbs to Viral infection. The most distinctive aspect of PS² for me is the windows which dominate the space – whether you are looking in or looking out. I propose covering the entire two windows of the PS² with a variety of semi-transparent/translucent materials in a mosaic/patchwork fashion – materials such as the bottom of plastic bottles, patterned glass dessert bowls/ plates of various colours, muslin, acetates with drawings, paintings and photographs. I want it to be a little difficult to see through the windows from the outside in. I then want to project images/film from a projector onto the window from the inside - in effect the window will become a semi transparent screen allowing the projection to pass through the screen.

Wednesday, 11.11
Jane Butler

'My initial interest in this event is the use of the space itself and the different character it may take on each day in the fast turnaround. I would like to use the gallery space as a blank canvas for the day, taking on, not only the architecture of the space, but its position in Donegall Street. To create the drawings I would use black insulating tape…I’m interested in how I could make the gallery look from the street, and how applying the tape to the walls at different angles can create an interesting view from the street, and the possibility of a distortion in the perception of the space.’

Thursday, 12.11
Aideen Doran: From 9-5

I intend to pursue the research into Spanish art and history 1500-1800 which I have been intending to do since January. As it is now October, this is a lot of research. I will be watching films, making tracings and drawings, photocopying, sculpting, reading and possibly learning. This research is the early stages of a short animated film about Francisco Pizarro, who conquered the Inca empire of Peru in 1532 with a force of only 400 men. In my recent work, I am interested in finding the human, the everyday in the great events of history… Gallery visitors will be more than welcome to enter the space for coffee and a chat about art, history and the possible further directions for my research.’

Friday, 13.11
Catherine Roberts

‘I propose to recreate my studio in the PS2 space and cast two dead pigeons for the day… The sculptural element of the pigeons will show that they are hard reared city pigeons. I am not interested in best in show or racing pigeons. I am interested in the type of pigeons that provoke sympathy because they have lost their toes, have clubbed feet or have their wings tainted with oil. Pigeons that have managed to survive the city streets against all odds. I would like the public to walk around them as solid obstacles… The sculptors will be made with site-specific installation in mind. Their bodies will be made from reinforced concrete, their legs and feet will be steel and they will be attached to the ground with steel and chemical fixings drilled into the ground.’

Saturday, 14.11
Alissa Kleist

‘I propose to purchase an item of flatpack furniture which, during my time spent in the gallery, will act as a catalyst for experimentation. I feel that this residency would give me the opportunity to engage not only in the physical making of an art object (which will explore the possibilities and limitations of the flatpack itself) but it would also allow me to examine some of the themes behind the construction of space, the question of originality and the interaction of the two and the three-dimensional. I would like to use the flatpack as a sculptural object, creating images and photographs describing the variety of different ways in which it may be assembled.'

Saturday, 14.11-evening/night 
Tonya McMullan: Time and Time Again

‘People passing by will glance into the gallery to find someone glancing back at them, a looped film showing a pair of brown eyes acting as though they are a clock, the eyes making a circular movement around and around like a clock, or making a constant 'eye rolling' movement. Reminding us we are being watched and that time is short, the rolling eyes act like an oppressive force, will people stop to look in? Or prefer to keep walking. The film fits in neatly with the 9 to 5 traditional working period, the judgemental brown eyes bring together themes of repetition, guilt and the mundane. The film is on a 3 minute loop and could be projected onto the back wall or window of the space.’

Monday, 16.11
Acitore Z Artezione & William Artt: Code-r :: the Red Dot

PS² as Code-r Production Factory Hybrid space of production & distribution – the material & the virtualReiteration through the geography/geometry of the matrix/gridPopulating both real & virtual space Eight Hour Production Schedule • modify, print, exhibit & distribute Ltd Edition Digital Posters: 1-20/20 Code-r :: the Red Dot :: .9 to 5 Residency' Project Ltd Edition Digital Prints: 1-3/3 individual matrix/grid printsCode-r :: the Red Dot :: .9 to 5 Residency' Series • map out & install a three wall matrix of red spectrum .dot' prints Code-r :: the Red Dot :: .9 to 5 Residency' Series • populate the online Red Dot content .9 to 5 Residency' & activate the e-commerce shop.
Collateral Activity for Code-r Artists – Assistants & Guests Podcast: Code-r Sound Lines Research Archive of Red Dot Phenomena Code-r Catering OBJECTIVE: to appropriate & respond to current models of .art as commodity' the red dot is for sale - available in any colour as long as it's red.’ Acitore Z Artezione & William Artt: Code-r :: the Red Dot

'9 to 5 residency'
Call for proposals- now ended

PS² offers artists, architects and creative practitioners its space for a series of daylong residencies.
Used for exhibition, performance, research, office work, hide out, craft workshop, studio, cinema, museum, living room, shop or observatory, the space will change daily in a fast turnaround. PS² will provide: -its space -equipment: data projector/ tv’s-dvd players/ boards/ internet/ chairs/ didital sign/ tables/ tool box/ coffee machine…
-practical assistance and invigilation
-web presence -small artist fee

Please send a short proposal + few images till 31 October 2009 to pssquared[at]btconnect.com
‘9 to 5’ residency will take place between 2-14 November 2009.