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Home Improvement is a project that aimed to generate a ‘counter-public’ within the framework of the housing conference it was commissioned for. Addressing ideas of taste and choice, the project addressed itself to the ‘everybody’ interest group highlighted on the conference’s webpage. The artist’s materials budget was made available to the general public for a ‘home improvement’ of their choosing, and the opportunity to receive the fund for this domestic intervention was run as a competition. This project, in the form of a home makeover competition, referred both to idealistic art practices where art can act as a social solution, and more obviously TV genres such as the home makeover show and ‘democratic’ star searches such as X Factor and You’re a Star.
The public was invited to enter their ideas, in the form of a video diary, for how they would use the fund of up to €1000, and why they deserve it. (Home improvements might include anything from new domestic appliances, to eco-renovations, to a change of room decoration, and could be luxurious, fantastical or practical. Terms and conditions applied, for example that entrants agree that by submitting video applications they consent to its public display.) A panel of judges made up of selected experts - architects, interior designers, community housing activists - shortlisted the entries which were then put to public vote for the duration of the exhibition in Cork, and online via YouTube. It was left to the judges to form the criteria of selection based on ‘quality’, ‘need’, or otherwise. An edited transcript of the judging process is available to download here (pdf, 148 KB)
Kathleen’s video on YouTube can be viewed here (5 minutes)
Jessica and Peter’s video on You Tube can be viewed here (2 minutes)
Joanie and Rowan’s video on YouTube can be viewed here (6 minutes).
The first day of public voting coincided with the May 2007 general election. 233 individuals voted in the competition and Jessica and Peter were announced as the overall winners, winning 49% of the total votes cast. Jessica and Peter proposed the renovation of a horsebox as a luxury eco home, and they used the prize fund to install windows, a floor, insulation and underfloor heating.
Their refurbishment-in-progress was driven into the National Sculpture Factory for a showcase event and discussion in November 2007. The discussion panel consisted of the artist and the competition winners, interviewed by Treasa O’Brien, programme coordinator of the National Sculpture Factory. This exhibition served to showcase not only the project, but Jessica and Peter’s ideas about sustainability and alternative living practices. They plan to take the horsebox on the road in 2008 and use it as a showcase and mobile workshop unit as well as a living space.
Commissioned by
The National Sculpture Factory, Cork, Ireland, in association with the conference des/IRE: designing houses for contemporary Ireland, 2007
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