GOT DAMP

GOT DAMP represents an ambitious act of solidarity. At the heart of Avril Corroon’s material enquiry was an ongoing exchange over 2 years with 55 households from London and Dublin who joined through activities and workshops, and via an invitation to members of the Community Action Tenants Union Ireland. Energy efficient dehumidifiers and support to manage damp was provided, whilst households contributed experiences, ideas and collected their damp as a material for an artwork. A total volume of 1800L in water was collected and gifted to the project. This was then exhibited at TACO!, London and Project Arts Centre, Dublin in 2023, as part of an expansive installation which included an artist film. 

The publication, GOT DAMP collates documentation of research, process, installation images, interviews, poetry and responses from writers, half of whom were project participants. Contributors include Mat Jenner, curator of artist-led space TACO! introduces Got Damp, its contexts and critical scope. Julian Bernard reflects on the project's process in relation to collective action, community and damp in their home. Chris Fite-Wassilak examines contradictions of modern living under the scope of rot and microbial terroir. Kirsten Cooke charts damps’ fluid coordinates through buildings and bodies. Daisy Lafarge presents a selection of poems ‘understudies for air’ and Eimear Murphy asks what is reciprocity.

As the design developed, Avril and Paul wondered about the possibility of publication to sense the relations and tensions that appear throughout the work; between vulnerability and visibility, exposure and extraction; the consideration of material as a witness; and damp as an omni-directional agent. As you move through the cloudy and shimmering pages, you’ll encounter paragraphs set into para-drips, image (over)flows and interruptions, appearing at times through thermographic textures.

This book is published by TACO! and was supported by Arts Council Ireland and Lottery funding through Arts Council England.