Issue Four 1

CCUPY
ISSUE 4
2 Occupy Paper Issue Four 3

CONTENTS
In the Gallery

CCUPY
Yo llo mmot
New work by Jim Ricks 04

Jim talks to Aoife Flynn about his practice and exhibition

Occupy Paper is a new online Culture Night

Con-artistry Workshop in Occupy Space 14
publication for contemporary art,

which runs alongside the visual art

programme in place in Occupy Space.

Occupy Space is one of Limericks newest exhibition

spaces, located on Thomas street. It was set up to Interview
facilitate an ever expanding need for artistic exhibition Enda O’Donoghue 20
spaces in Limerick. It is an artist led project, run by
members of Wickham Street Studios on a voluntary basis. Talks to Susan Holland about his Berlin-based practice
Occupy Space is committed to delivering a relentlessly Submissions
energetic programme of exhibitions and events.

Our intention is that this space will be a central axis Occupy paper is a free
for a huge variety of creative people to experiment online journal published
and present their work. The organization encourages monthly. We are actively
openness and accessibility to artists and the visiting public looking for contributors to
alike, and aims to provide an open solid platform for the write articles, essays, and Sinead Rice 26
visual arts. Our program involves hosting exhibitions of reviews.Occupy paper
accepts all submissions Talks to Occupy Paper about her practice
emerging and established artists, with a strong emphasis
on exhibiting those based in Limerick. Occupy Space also related to contemporary
hosts other artist led projects such as artists talks, seminars art practice from painting
and collaborative events with other creative practitioners and print to sculpture, video
and organizations. and beyond.If you would
like to be included in the
This visual art journal is intended to expand on the focus section please send a
exhibitions and events happening in the gallery as well CV, 5-10 images and a short
statement about your work.
Focus
as provide a platform for critique and dialogue between Kieran Herlihy 28
emerging and established artists in Limerick and beyond. All submissions should be
Artists, critical writers and other art practitioners are invited sent by email to : Limerick Printmakers
to submit to the journal and engage with it as a means
of testing, experimenting, developing and expanding on occupy.space@gmail.com
new ideas and concepts.
4 Occupy Paper
In the Gallery
Yo llo mmot
New work by Jim Ricks
Occupy Space is proud to present Yo llo
mmot an exhibition of new work by Jim
Ricks. The exhibition was opened by Mike
Fitzpatrick, Head of Limerick School of Art
and Design, on Thursday 9th September.
Yo llo mmot exhibited a dozen works which
are re-created from Tom Molloy’s 2005 solo
show Yo lo vi. This exhibition was originally
shown at Limerick City Gallery of Art, just
down the road from Occupy Space. The
new works are approximations of Molloy’s
pieces made on a reduced budget with
limited materials and time. As Ricks did not
see the original show these works are based
on the exhibition catalogue photographs.
Through this process of re-interpretation
based on limitations, not unlike a cover-
band or karaoke, the imitations change,
distort and take on a new layer of meaning.
At times updating and at times imitating
the original methodology, Ricks consciously
‘riffs’ off of Molloy’s originals.
The project focuses on art history,
institutional critique, boundaries and
ownership, but importantly it investigates
the origins of creativity. This is achieved
through a rejection of the ‘original’ and
the ‘individual’, i.e. nothing is new in any
practical sense, but is instead divergent
and additive; a combination of existing
ideas. Yo llo mmot is also a new take on
the tradition in fine arts training through
imitation of ‘old masters’ work.
Issue Four 5
Jim Ricks was born in California. He
received his MFA from the National
University of Ireland, Galway and Burren
College of Art programme and his BFA from
the California College of the Arts. Here JIm
Ricks talks to Aoife Flynn about his practice
and exhibition.
The show ran from 10th - 25th September 2010
6 Occupy Paper
AF Hi Jim, could you tell me a bit more
about your back ground, education,
influential tutors etc?
JR I was a very active graffiti artist starting
from high school. Painted loads on
walls and trains in different cities like San
Francisco, Chicago, Minneapolis and
eventually started getting more and more
interested in photography. I’m really
fortunate to have lived in SF at the time
as they have a really good City College,
then I transferred to the California College
of the Arts where I split my major between
photography, design and print.
AF What made you decide to come to
Ireland?
JR I was interested in studying in Europe
and had seen a presentation on the Burren
College of Art at CCA. I applied to a few
Issue Four 7
programmes, but when I visited the Burren,
the idea of removing myself from the city,
distractions (I’m easily distracted) and
scenes was very appealing. It is a unique
place for an art college and I suppose,
like many Americans, I was interested in
connecting with my family’s past.
AF What are the differences you notice
between the art scene in America versus
Ireland?
JR Difficult to say, as there are many styles,
scenes and schools in the US. The most
glaring difference overall is the market
and private funding. There are a lot of
collectors in the US and private support and
grants, but per capital Ireland, via the Arts
Council, funds the arts something like 50
times more than the US. So the motivation
and thus the ‘product’ can be very
different.
8 Occupy Paper
AF What is your practice like in general? I
remember you saying your work is paper-
based and portable generally, what kind of
work do you normally make?
JR Well, I make work out of what I can get
my hands on and what I can afford to
produce. Usually this is easily transportable
and I suppose my background in
photography, design and print comes out
by primarily working on paper.
AF Where does your imagery originate?
JR The news. Museums. Everyday signs and
symbols. Political posters
AF Yo llo mmot was a kind of homage to
your former tutor Tom Molloy, what made
you choose his show and how did he take
it?
Issue Four 9
JR I’m not sure it is entirely an homage. That
is part of it, but it is also critical, humorous
and challenging... or tries to be. I do like his
work very much and consider him one of
the most important Irish artists right now.
I think Yo Lo Vi was an important show for
Limerick and for Tom. When I put in for
the show I wanted to do something about
Limerick and that fits into my own practice,
which has taken on re-presentation as a
vehicle for exploring many ideas. When
I was accepted for the show, I told Tom
and he seemed a bit taken aback, maybe
alarmed. But I think the idea has grown on
him.
AF Is it important the viewer references the
original catalogue when viewing the show?
JRYes, essential.
10 Occupy Paper
AF Are there any other artists other than
Tom that you admire and maybe influence
you?
JR A lot of graffiti artists influenced me, the
ones that work more with concepts and
symbols especially. I’m currently working
on some projects with artists I really like and
look up to, one with Hank Willis Thomas and
Ryan Alexiev and the other with Stephanie
Syjuco.
But others that have influenced me would
be Manet, August Sanders, Heartfield,
Duchamp, all the Dadaists, Walker Evans,
Lazlo Maholy Nagy, Fluxus, Bernd and
Hilla Becher, Mike Kelley, Mike Nelson,
Hirschhorn, Santiago Sierra, Starling,
Wallinger, etc... And all sorts of political
posters... Paris in 68, Emory Douglas,
OSPAAAL, Rupert Garcia...
AF I know you’ve been quite involved with
126 in Galway, how did that come about
and what was the experience like?
Issue Four 11
JR I was on the Board of 126 for 2 years
and was the Chair for a while. It was a
really interesting and at many times difficult
experience, but ultimately rewarding. I
took it as a fantastic opportunity and tried
to programme as many interesting artists
that I wanted to work with as possible. It’s
a brilliant model as well kind of an anti-
commercial project, based on Transmission
and Catalyst and now Embassy, with the
revolving Board.
AF What are your plans for the future, any
upcoming exhibitions?
JR I’d like to keep doing exactly what I’m
doing, but make a living from it. And live
in Europe and then move back to the
Bay. Solo shows coming up at Pallas and
Lismore.
12 Occupy Paper Issue Four 13
14 Occupy Paper Issue Four 15

In the Gallery
Culture Night 24th September 2010 at
Occupy Space was a hive of activity; kids,
teens and adults learned the tricks of the
trade and how to replicate masterpieces in
a Creative Con-artist Workshop. Following
the example of famous painters, visitors to
the gallery learned to cheat, fraud and forge
their favourite art-work, received their official
Con-artist certificate and exhibited their
piece in the gallery. Visitors also had the
opportunity to see Jim Rick’s show and meet
the artists who run Occupy Space.

Recreating Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

16 Occupy Paper Issue Four 17

Kevin helped our Alan and Susan show some Con-Artists how to make a Damien Hirst spot-painting
Con-Artists make
some Damien Hirst
spin-paintings
18 Occupy Paper Issue Four 19

Some Con-Artists making Warhol Willie O Deas and below, a Rothko Con Artists making
Mondrians and below,
some of the Con-artist
artwork
20 Occupy Paper Issue Four 21

Interview
Enda O Donoghue
talks to Susan Holland
about his Berlin based
practice

Susan Holland Enda, your current
practice engages a broad spectrum
of photographs, taken from the
public domain, which then undergo a
transformative process into painted works.
How do you go about filtering these
images?
Enda O’Donoghue The filtering and
selection of images is an ongoing and
continually evolving aspect to my work.
My selection criteria are based as much
on the subject as the style and quality
of the images, I am mostly interested in
everyday subject matter and an aesthetic
of low resolution and unconventional
compositions. I have been compulsively
collecting and cataloguing images found
on the Internet for the past 10 years or more
and while there is a definite subjectivity
to my criteria for selection, there is also a
strong element of randomness at least at
the stages of searching and finding. As
a method of pre-selection I have almost
wallpapered two walls in my studio with
hundreds of printed photos, a selection
from those that I have downloaded and this
acts as a way for me to find images which
play off each other and have potential to
be worked on into paintings.
SH Your recent series of paintings seems to
have moved from the politicized context of
previous works, what influenced this transfer
of emphasis?
EO’D I am not sure I would think of it as
more or less politicized. The change in focus
for me has been quite gradual and I think
this has been more reaction on my part
by what I have seen as a shift in the way
people are using images on the Internet,
mainly due to social network services such
as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. Also
I am very interested in the way digital
photography has changed the way people
actually take photos, the preciousness
that once existed when you had a roll of
36 or 24 shots on a roll of film is gone and
replaced with a more throwaway attitude.
This idea of the throwaway and banal or
everyday snapshot is something which has
become more important to me in the work.
SH Some of your recent works utilise
close-up images which evoke a sense of
subversive intimacy with your anonymous
subjects, I refer here to paintings such
as Not to mention the coffee... and In
the Elevator, is this investigation of the
boundaries of privacy a particular intention
of this body of work?
EO’D There is something inherent with
current mobile technology which has
changed the very nature of public and
private and then there is an ongoing
debate at the moment about people’s
rights of privacy both in the online and
offline world. This is certainly something
which has been an influence on my
ideas but I am also interested in ideas of
identity and a kind of open-ended pictorial
narrative and for me the works that you
mentioned are also playing with these
ideas. I should add that with each photo
that I work with I make contact with the
original photographer to request their
permission and in some cases I have ended
up staying in contact with them. This has
been a distinct parallel strand to the work
which is partly as a way of dealing with the
anonymous nature of the Internet and also
Too Slutty?
a reaction to the issues surrounding online
copyright.
SH Indeed there is a suggestion of
voyeuristic gaze within some of your recent
works, particularly in paintings such as
Too slutty? and Mistaking the Peplum. Is
this perhaps a comment on the extent
of uncensored imagery uploaded, or
perhaps the narcissism of the individual as a
reflection of society as a whole?
EO’D I am not interested in trying to make
any comments or statements about society
as a whole. My interest lies more in the
way people are photograph their lives,
their surroundings and themselves. It is
almost like tracking new phenomena of
behaviour in photography that seem to
surface organically from the chaos. In that
way it is more related to an idea of memes
than social commentary. With the most
recent paintings my focus shifted to look
at photographs that people have taken
of themselves. So while there is a sense of
voyeurism, it is a confused sense. I like this
confusion.
22 Occupy Paper
Detail :Too Slutty?
SH Do you intend the titles you choose for
your works as implicit textual references, as
significant as the image itself, or are they
simply addendum’s you attach once the
work is completed?
EO’D All of the titles for the paintings come
from the original titles or from the comments
or tags used for the source photo online. So
when titling the works I have always tried
to find a balance between keeping the
work open, providing a link to the original
context and also acting as a hook to the
beginning of a new conversation that,
interestingly, often echoes the conversation
that happened in the comments with the
original photo online.
SH There is a particular strength in the
painting medium to make remarkable the
unremarkable. Personally I find some of
Issue Four 23
Wow My Stomach
your most engaging paintings are those
that depict completely un-considered
throwaway shots such as the rear of the
subjects head. Which of the series are you
most excited about currently?
EO’D I am generally always most excited
about the newest piece, so at the moment
that is a painting called Reflection. But I
agree with you about these unremarkable
photos and with future work I am planning
to push this idea of working with even more
unremarkable and throwaway images.
These are very slow paintings to make
with a complicated, highly analytical and
methodical process and I find something
powerful in that contrast of working
for weeks or months on a large scale
canvas with a photo that is was made
by a complete stranger of a seemingly
insignificant scene.
Reflection
24 Occupy Paper Issue Four 25

SH Where do you cite your artistic
influences?
EO’D Never an easy question to answer as
I have quite a long list which is constantly
expanding and changing but the two main
artists who have always been a strong
influence on my work, particularly with
regard to the painting process, have been
Gerhard Richter and Malcolm Morley. Also
over the past few years I’ve been quite
interested by some of the new art coming
out of China, in particular the work of Xie
Nanxing.
SH It is interesting to note that your
background includes a Degree in
Programming and a Masters in Interactive
Media, and yet your practice at the
moment seems to be primarily concerned
with painting. Has any of your recent work
taken alternative forms?
EO’D I have been working with a text
based form of drawing using computer
character codes and also making ongoing
experiments with video and some purely
photo based works. One recent photo
and video based piece came out of a
collaboration with a curator who agreed to
give me all of the photographs and video
clips from his mobile phone and permission
to use or present them publicly. To date
I have only shown this as a photo based
work but wish to redevelop it in the coming
year or so to include the video.
SH You have been based in Berlin since
2002; do you find the cultural climate there
conducive to your practice?
EO’DWhile it is great to have all the
museums, internationally recognized
galleries, art fairs and a biennale on my
doorstep, the thing that interests me most

LAN

about Berlin is the vast grass-roots scene
of artist run galleries and project spaces.
When I moved there first I wasn’t expecting
or even actively looking for a place with
a strong artistic scene. What I found has
been hugely influential on and constructive
for my practice and over the past few
years I’ve watched the art scene and its
reputation grow internationally. There are
now a huge number of artists living and
working in Berlin, some would say too many
but for me this community is what makes
the city very special. Over the past few
years I have been involved in organizing
appetite
and curating a number of group exhibitions
in various locations throughout the city,
mostly in unused commercial premises
and this for me has acted as a great way
of being involved in the community and
getting to know artist whose work I admire.
Enda O’Donaghue is currently exhibiting at Galerie
Hunchentoot, Berlin until 15th October, his solo
exhibition is titled ‘Is Feeling Lucky!’. For additional
images and information on the work discussed,
please see www.endaism.com
26 Occupy Paper
Sinead
Rice Talks to Occupy Paper
about her practice
Empty, quiet spaces that seek to evoke
silence and emptiness through their minimal
ordered forms these abstract paintings are
contemplative in nature. The surfaces are
built up through intense layering of colour
over time to achieve physical depth in the
paintings. These layers relate to the way in
which layers are built up and worn down
through the natural processes of time in
nature. This process also helps to create a
sense of “ yugen” an Asian concept which
Installation shot
means “inexpressible depth” or invisible
beauty” .This idea arises from the Japanese
aesthetic of Wabi Sabi which describes
the inexpressible beauty which things,
especially natural objects, attain with the
passage of time. It incorporates the idea of
the beauty of imperfection and irregularity
or roughness and avoids ornamentation in
structure. The paintings are meant to be
shown in a repetitive series though each
is created individually and works alone.
Issue Four 27
Works on paper i, mixed media, 2010. 10 x 5 in
Repetition is also used to convey a sense of
Untitled i, oil on canvas, 2010, 12 x 12 in
the repetition used in mantra as a means of
achieving a heightened awareness and as
a way of emptying and quieting the mind.
These paintings originally arose out of
an Interest in Asian minimalism and are
informed by research into Zen Buddhism,
Zen art work and the influence of its
philosophical ideas especially in the work of
post war American Abstract artists such as
Ad Reinhardt, Robert Ryman, Blinky Palermo
etc. whose work reflects the influence of
Asian culture on American painting from
the1950`s. At the root of the work is a sense
of dissatisfaction with modern society. The
work arose out a search for a sense of
peace and order closely associated with
the Zen Buddhist religion and its focus on
mindfulness and meditation as a way of
living and as an alternative to the constant
stimulus and distraction of modern life.
28 Occupy Paper
Focus
Kieran Herlihy
OP Tell us a bit about your
academic background.
KH After I finished school I
attended Colaiste Stiofan
Naofa in Cork for a Fine
Art Portfolio course. It was
my intent to go on to study
Animation or Graphic Design.
During my year I was pushed
more toward combined
materials and painting.
Limerick and Crawford were
recommended for further
study. After attending the
open day in L.S.A.D. I had my
heart set on four years there.
Issue Four 29
Thankfully I was accepted.
During first year I got to try all
six disciplines but Printmaking
was the one for me. I spent
three years studying print in
Limerick and got my B.F.A.
in 07. I was awarded the
Limerick Printmakers Bursary
the same year. This allowed
me to stay in Limerick and
continue my studio practice
for another year and exhibit
my work in the Printmakers
gallery in October 08. This
was my first solo show within
a gallery space.
30 Occupy Paper Issue Four 31

OP What kind of themes and

concerns are explored in your
practice?

KH My personal practice is
a disjointed auto biography.
I draw heavily from my
surroundings. The people I
encounter are a central point
for many of my pieces. These
Figures appear individually and
often surrounded by some text
and/or various iconography
from my own life experiences.
I like to reference Nostalgia
through pastiche. I’m not really
concerned with the effect
graphic novels; video games,
pop culture and fashion have
on the world that surrounds us.
I am more interested on the
points of connectivity these
sub cultures create between
individuals.

OP Where does your imagery

originate?

KH A combination of many
places. Media, fashion,
cartoons, various forms of
graphic art and games. My daily
life, memories, hopes, fears,
dreams, daily encounters and
conversations with both friends
and strangers.

OP I seem to remember your

work having a very graphic and
sometimes graffiti-like approach,
is that something that has
always influenced you?

KH Yes, I remember copying

panels from comics as a kid, this
would have been one of the
origins of my style and where I
learned a lot of my early skills.
As a teenager my mother was
fairly easy going about how I
decorated my room and for a
few years I drew and painted
32 Occupy Paper
direct to the walls and layers of band and
film posters were added to it. So I guess
that was a big start to the development
of my work as it is today. Also I played in
Bands and Skateboarded so the flyers
posters and graphics that came with being
in those circles were a huge influence on
me. Graffiti is a little bit different. I tried it but
there was none in the town I grew up in and
I new nothing but what I saw in magazines.
It didn’t make a huge impact on me at first
and I didn’t revisit aerosols as a medium
again until college. I have no interest in
lettering and tagging but I am very drawn
to the appropriation of space.
Issue Four 33
OP What can you tell us about your process
in general? Give us some insight into how
you work.
KH Well I think to begin It would be best
to explain that I keep three sketchbooks
at once. One is my draw something
everyday sketchbook. I keep this one
to just doodle in, I look at it like training,
if you’re an athlete you must train and
practice everyday. This sketch book gets
me in the mindset to work and its great at
just unwinding in the evenings. I just draw.
Some work in it is relevant but the majority
of this book is just mark making material
testing and little tests and experiments in
composition.
34 Occupy Paper Issue Four 35

Book two is my ideas book I write everything
down in it and I have it with me at all
times. Some notes consist of one word that
might b a reference to some research. For
example the last entry was ten minutes
ago and it just says 8-bit Classics. It refers
to some music I was listening to at the
weekend. I often scribble plans for
displaying of work or areas within the town
or cities I visit where Id like to do some
Street orientated work. There are pages of
research names and subjects also. Its fairly
spontaneous and rough but it makes sense
to me and it has proved essential.
The third is my Preparatory sketchbook. It’s
a beautiful leather bound that my sisters
got for me on my last birthday. In this I work
through concepts for various works. What
elements and images I combine. I paste,
paint, draw and print directly into these
pages and often do many takes on the
same main composition. These often end
up being templates for larger works that I
wish to execute. I also keep a journal and I
tend to add in excerpts into my work.
Currently I find I am working almost
exclusively in these books. I work on very
large sheets of paper that I construct
from cheap wallpaper backing but these
drawings are also just intended as studies.
I have been working like this for the past 6
months and it is a new approach for me.
OP Are there any artists out there that you
really admire and maybe influence you?
KH There are so many. I spend countless
hours on the Internet looking at work and
reading about artists and exhibitions. I’d
like to give you a short list of some people
whose work I love.

Visual Artists; Derek O Sullivan, Des Raymond Carver

MacMahon, Gerry Davis, DanLeo, Johnny
Wong, Brian Fitzgerald, Adam Neate, Zak
Smith, Arthur Rackham, Takashi Murakami,
Yoshitomo Nara, Brian Lee O Mally, David
Shrigley, Reggie Pedro, Fort Thunder, Chris
Judge, Pete Fowler, Rocksteady Kevie,
Nori Kapza, Pu Pazi and For The Love Of.
Musicians: The Cast Of Cheers, And
So I Watch You From Afar, Mogwai,
Anamanaguchi, The Mystery Jets, Adebisi
Shank, 65daysofstatic, C!ties, Redneck
Manifesto, tenpastseven, walter mitty and
the realists, BANTOM and MUM
OP Any upcoming exhibitions? What are
your plans for the future?
KH I am taking some time to work on a
few side projects at the moment. I had the
pleasure of meeting some great designers
at for the love of in Castlepalooza this
summer so there are some Projects that I
will be collaborating on.
For now my plan is to put my head down,
make-work and walk my dog.

What to Read: Norwegian Wood by Haruki

Murakami, Slaughterhouse V by Kurt
Vonnegut, White Teeth by Zadie Smith,
Generation X by Douglas Coupland, V
by Thomas Pyncho, Calvin and Hobbs
by Bill Watterson, Hitchhikers Guide to the
Galaxy by Douglas Adams, All of Us by
36 Occupy Paper Issue Four 37

occupy.space@gmail.com
Disclaimer: Occupy Paper is free and makes no profit from the publication of any materials
found therein. Occupy Paper is a publication for the dissemination of artistic ideas and will
not be liable for any offense taken by any individual(s) resulting from any material contained
therein.All images in Occupy Paper are the sole property of their creators unless otherwise
stated. No image in the magazine or the magazine logo may be used in any way without
permission of the copyright holder.
Submissions: All works submitted to Occupy Paper must be the sole, original property of the
contributor(s), have the appropriate model releases, and cannot interfere with any other
publication or company’s publishing rights.
Occupy Paper is edited by Aoife Flynn, Occupy Space/Wickham Street Studios, Limerick,
Ireland.

CCUPY