Reciprocal Residency Solo Exhibitions 2022

CCA Derry~Londonderry presents two solo exhibitions by Mark Buckeridge (NI/RoI) and Ona Juciūtė (LT), participants in the second iteration of the DeMo reciprocal residency programme, a partnership between CCA, Lithuanian Culture Institute and Kaunas Artists' House. The exhibitions feature new work by the artists following their participation in the residency programme.

Ona Juciūtė | Joiners

Ona Juciūtė is interested in the practices and shifts of making today. She works across sculpture, installation and moving images. With a set of sculptures made specifically for this show, Ona is exploring parallels between tailoring, clothing and furniture-making following her month-long residency at CCA.

Gallery 1 houses a series of sculptures constructed from wood veneers inspired by the parallels in the declining industries of Derry~Londonderry (shirt factories) and Ona’s home city of Vilnius (timber). Ona inverts the veneers’ logical form as something that is not intended to exist as a surface devoid of its own structure or form by creating structural forms. The forms maintain their shape using pelican clips, familiar to domestic settings, nails and intersecting veneer planes. Ona returns the material to a state that borderlines industry and nature, with organic, leaf-like qualities. The sculptures also feature clothing tags as a reference to the changing relationships between owners and their garments. Tags became popular when industrial materials and textile blends took over from wool, cotton and silk as people no longer knew how to care for their garments. Ona sees them as a message from the makers to the owners, becoming washed out through time and use.

The video piece Joiners connects patchwork making practices of former Factory Girls of our city and a story of Ona’s father – a carpenter – and his relationship with the changing world through his skill. In the film, the lens tracks the stitches and fabrics of the quilt constructed from pyjama material offcuts. The projection’s scale aims to create a landscape from the quilt; we navigate the contours of the folds, valleys and ridges as we explore the different textures and threads. The camera lens’ journey judders to echo the surging path of the sewing machine’s foot.

The film’s text begins mid-conversation with Ona asking her father questions about his ways of making. He describes how he chooses leftover pieces of wood and other materials discarded from other projects and how he pieces them together to make new furniture.

Mark Buckeridge | 4 Ballads

4 Ballads is a performance and installation by Mark Buckeridge. Within this sculptural setting, performance, collage and sound are intertwined to explore the intersection of traditional singing, nostalgia and poetic details of everyday life.

A large backdrop provides the central feature of Mark’s installation. A patchwork of material is pinned to a back board, each responding to his previous work and different phases of Mark’s life. The piece both creates a set for Mark’s performances, referencing backdrops for musical performances, and is a sculptural installation in its own right. The textiles are material from Kaunas, London and Belfast marking the times and places Mark spent time creating the work. Using the installation like a scrapbook, the piece contains early drafts of lyrics, drawings, notes, diary entries, outtakes for set lists and research materials from his 20s from his perspective now of being in his 30s. Mark combines music with his artistic background and considers images akin to the lyrics in his songs, bringing together elements to look back at his personal life and practice.

A metallic form present in the exhibition acts as both a sculptural object and functional stand that presents a costume for the performance made in collaboration with an artist in London. The costume is also a work in its own right and comes alive when worn for Mark’s performances. There are drawings on the back of the jacket and research materials are present in a clear pocket on the knee, referencing the backdrop.

The installation features four photographs, incidental moments from Mark’s daily life. A triptych of moments features a car in Kaunas, a friend’s book on the tube in London and a visitor’s runners in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. On the reverse of the backdrop is another photograph of Mark’s favourite meal in Kaunas: pyrogi. The photographs are part diary and part moments of reflection.

Mark will be performing an a capella ballad as part of the exhibition. He spent time rehearsing with a sean nós singer and developed the lyrics for the ballad during his residency in Kaunas. The performance starts when Mark changes into the costume and it uses the sean nós singing style and song structure as interpreted by Mark, with lyrics reflecting his feelings of today and looking back at his past.