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Things Left Undone

Askeaton Contemporary Arts, book, public art, sculpture, destruction, residency
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I was invited by graphic designer Wayne Daly and Askeaton Contemporary Arts to carry out a writing residency in Ireland in 2023. I did a road trip, taking in artist’s studios, arts centres, public artworks and artist-run-spaces across the country. Out of this research came a book about failure. It forms a selection of mad, frayed, totally normal stories about undone, uncelebrated, abandoned things.

A page with three columns of orange text on an off-white background, featuring varying paragraph lengths and indentations.

The book, entitled, Things Left Undone Unsaid Uncelebrated Unplanned Unfinished features the work of artists Lily Van Oost, Eilis O’Connell, Lawrence Weiner and Richard Serra; filmmaker Bob Quinn; and writer Maeve Brennan.

A book page with 'Jes Fernie', 'undone', 'uncelebrated', and 'unfinished' on the left, and 'Things left...', 'unsaid', 'unplanned' on the right.

Order a copy here

A woman with dark hair and bangs, eyes squeezed shut, shouts or screams with her mouth wide open.
Black and white photo showing Minister Ted Nealon and artist Lily Van Oost with Brenda Nealon, wearing the 'Brian Boru's Coat' artwork.
A weathered brick wall with a barred window, an arched doorway, faded painted text, and an iron fence.
A handwritten sign in grass reads: "PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB SIDES OF CRATER."
Two pages show text about James Turrell's Irish Sky Garden on the left, and a note on the right explaining a planned image of the artwork was denied reproduction.
An open book with text on the left page and a brown file cover on the right, featuring a "WITHDRAWN DUE TO: LOW CIRCULATION" label.

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