Page / Process / Proceed II

April 2024, Studio 12, Backwater Artists Group, Cork City

Page / Process / Proceed II was a project and exhibition by Ciara Rodgers, Kate McElroy and Sarah Long. This second iteration of Page / Process / Proceed was a site-specific response to the Backwater Artists Group building in Cork City.

Each artist received a package containing text-based and visual instructions, which served as prompts for their engagement with the Backwater Artists Group building. The project emphasized curiosity and unknowing, inviting participants to explore alternative modes of production. The instructions were intentionally open-ended, prompting each artist to interpret and interact with the environment over several weeks. The only clear instruction was that a photo had to be taken with the camera provided after each score was complete. The goal was less about the final outcome and more about the experience of the process itself, as the artists activated the instructions and responded to their surroundings in real-time. This approach allowed for an emphasis on the mundane and the everyday, inviting fresh perspectives on routine or overlooked details within the space.

The second part of the project happened in Studio 12, the project space in Backwater Artists Studio. Here, I had composed additional visual and text-based scores, but this time they were intended to be activated together. These activations were a direct response to the architecture of the room. The key idea was to engage with the environment in an open-ended way, focusing on exploration and discovery rather than a predetermined final outcome. Again, each artist recorded the activations at specific points with the cameras that had been distributed. The project culminated in an exhibition of the photos from the cameras with further instructions for both the artists and the audience. The project also aims to leave a lasting record of the experience, with a publication currently being produced to document the process and outcomes.