Oh No That's Awful!

Oh No Thats Awful!

Paul Conneally September 2010

Possible postcard out of part of a Facebook discussion between Dave Beech and Paul O'Kane instigated by Paul Conneally via Facebook as part of his piece 'The Hot Chestnut Man'

Spoil Heap Harvest

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Spoil Heap Harvest - 2010

Spoil Heap Harvest is a series of 12 images made by Paul Conneally of a walk over the spoil heap from Snibston Colliery, Coalville, Leicestershire.

The spoil heap is now Snibston Country Park and is situated directly adjacent to Snibston Discovery Park.

The walk was led by social geographer and artist Maurice Maguire.

The walkers were artists Jo Dacombe, Geoff Broadway, Brendan Jackson and Paul Conneally.

Conneally is looking for ways other than photography to document walks and interventions. Here he picks berries, leaves, flowers and animals droppings along the way and smears them directly into his sketch book.

The images here are 'in the raw'.

The work comes out of action reserach for TRANSFORM an exploration of Snibston Discovery Park and beyond for Leicestershire Museums Service.

SPECIAL! - Video Instalation City Of London Guildhall 2006

Special! - Video Instalation City of London Guildhall 2006

Video installation for City of London Festival 2006 by Paul Conneally (Little Onion) with pupils in Tower Hamlets, London UK.

The piece was originally installed on a loop in the City of London Guildhall.

The art of suprising comparison is explored with pupils placing haiku written in the built environment of school grounds next to special objects brought in from home.The psychogeographical element that runs through Conneally's work work is found in the encouragement to engage differently with familliar built suroundings in new ways.

A further element of detournement is found in the justoposition of the soundtrack from the Japanese monster film Mothra about a giant moth that protects two tiny princesses and the world from environmental catastrophe.

Soundtrack is Mothra's Song by The Peanuts.

 

FACT MIX 85: Andy Weatherall - A Pox On Influences

Fact Mix 85: Andrew Weatherall by Fact Mix Archive on Mixcloud

Fajitas In A Teepee

Fajitas In A Teepee
Paul Conneally September 11 2010
Intervention renga with Watermead Estate community Thurmaston, Leicestershire.
Co-ordinated by artist Jemma Bagley for Charnwood Arts
Music: Judge Smut Dub by Dum Dum Dum 1979
Paul Conneally and Jemma Bagley return to Thurmaston revisiting the site that originally led to "The Sound Of Water" a psychogeographic / splacist exploration of Thurmaston, in the Borough of Charnwood, Leicestershire through a series of haiku walks, workshops and interventions with people that live and / or work in the area.
The Sound of Water was a piece of public art originally coming out of a Section 106 planning requirement for public art as part of the development of the old Merrimans site next to the A46 in Thurmaston into the new 'Watermead' housing estate. Conneally and Bagley were commissioned through Charnwood arts via Charnwood Borough Council to work with "community groups" to produce haiku like texts that could be incorporated into metal works of art by Richard Thornton in the new housing development.
Conneally and Bagley decided to approach the Thurmaston Action Group, that was actively campaigning against the 'Watermead' development, rather than just go straight into a school (which they did later) or such to generate textual material. The developers were not told that the group working with the artists to put texts into the new site were actively opposed to and campainging against the development. Approached by the BBC to talk about the project Conneally felt he would get a better understanding of what he was actually doing by asking one of the action group to speak, alongside Bagley, instead of himself and the interview itself became part of the piece: Sound of Water Interview

Fajitas In A Teepee sees the artists returning to the now complete new development and working with the new residents during an afternoon that was intended to bring the new community together. Fajitas In A Teepee is an "intervention renga" - non of the praticipants set out to write a renga - they were randomly approached by Conneally (Little Onion) in roving renga master mode to link with and shift away from the previously written verse as the renga built up on recycled cardboard around the playground in the centre of the estate. The artists took time to engage with and discuss resident and workers feelings about living and working in and around the new Watermead development including how the design and build elements affected their mood and style of living.
The video of the boards that were written in situ and attached to the wooden fence around the playground are not the finished piece. The piece was and is the interactions in and with the space and the people on the day.
We exchange places with spaces and in doing so both are changed.

Haiku Seats Watermead Estate Thurmaston

Haiku fragments built into the urban landscape via metal benches designed and made by Richard Thornton with metal cut text out of splacist / psychogeographic haiku walks by Paul Conneally through Thurmaston and surrounds with local people.

The seats / benches are now installed in the centre of the new build mix of social and non-social housing in the community playground and social area.

The haiku walks and work directly with the community was co-ordinated by artist Jemma Bagley through Charnwood Arts.

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Bus Stop (featuring Late Of The Pier)

Bus Stop - Paul Conneally 2008

While watching 'Late of The Pier' at FOPP, Nottingham, Paul Conneally turns his attention away from the band, which he can hear but not see too well, to the people he can see through the window from inside the gig at FOPP on Queen Street, boarding a bus.

The band are clearly audible on the street. The queue becomes interesting in juxtaposition to the music.

Most of the people do not seem to want to be seen to notice the very loud live music coming from the store as LOTP provide the soundtrack to their bus boarding at the end of a busy day at work.

Here the spectacle being provided specifically for entertainment is replaced by the spectacle of the street itself.

One woman in particular, as she struggles with her umbrella, captivates us.

The video was later installed in the actual window videoed from and played on a loop for 24 hours. The main audience was people waiting for the bus at the bus stop videoed and passers by.