UNSOLD

Artist Residency at Fathom Gallery, 1333 14th Street NW, Washington DC 20005. Presented by Solas Nua. Supported by Imagine Ireland, an initiative of Culture Ireland.

Fiona Hallinan was invited by Solas Nua and Fathom Creative to undertake an artist residency and exhibition at Fathom Gallery in Washington DC throughout June 2011. The starting point of the residency was the re-interpretation of an ongoing installation piece realised and on exhibition in May/June 2011 at the Kerlin Gallery in Dublin for the context of Washington DC and the space at Fathom Gallery. The piece, entitled UNSOLD, entailed the daily collection of unsold flowers from a local retailer. Hallinan re-appropriated the flowers from waste objects to a living installation through dismantling and semi-pressing each one, then pinning the individual petals to a constructed wall at the entrance to the gallery and in discreet locations throughout the space, creating a chart that sought to represent the fluctuating nature of value and obsolescence. Through this process of ongoing negotiation with a local store, Hallinan initiated an inquisitive interaction with the local area, delving into its histories of value and exchange, uncovering the stories of what might have been bought or sold in these areas previously, questioning what was of value here before and what is of value now. UNSOLD appeared as a fluctuating value system in the window of Fathom facing the street, a storefront for unwanted items. The installation was accompanied by photographic work by Hallinan.

ON VALUE: CONVERSATION EVENING

TUESDAY JUNE 21 2011

Coinciding with this installation, Hallinan held a short series of informal conversation evenings with invited speakers entitled On Value at Fathom Gallery. A transcribed recording of the final conversation with photos from the residency period created a zine that was distributed at the exhibition launch. To request a PDF of this zine contact fionahallinan //at// gmail //dot// //com//