Invited Guests: Kian Benson Bailes, Orla McHardy and Anna Spearman

‘Invited Guests’ (2024) by Kian Benson Bailes, Orla McHardy and Anna Spearman at The Dock examines dialogue as an essential part of collective practice. The trio first came together for a 2023 research project, ‘hashtag WIP’ at the Roscommon Arts Centre, where they were invited to develop work collaboratively through a series of studio visits culminating in a presentation of works in progress. During this time, they discovered their mutual interest in process and play, which encouraged further collaboration.

Interdependence manifests in both the working practices of the group and in the creation of the works. This exhibition project was selected from The Dock’s open call for local artists, in which Benson Bailes, McHardy and Spearman proposed an exhibition that blurred authorship, creating an environment where sculptures feel as though they are “hanging out together”. The exhibition programme featured two workshops including a soft sculpture-making session as well as a ‘Pecha Kucha’—a visual presentation session— in the space, furthering the theme of creative exchange.

The title of ‘Invited Guests’ is inspired by British artist Phyllida Barlow’s site-specific works, ‘Objects For…’. This series positioned commonplace objects, such as a television or lamppost, with sculptural elements, recontextualising their function, value and position. Barlow describes the sculptures as “uninvited guests” whose disruptive presence encourages a reimagination of space, challenging normative expectations of objects and sculpture. ‘Invited Guests’ echoes these intentions, using sculpture, textile, animation, ceramics, and painting to experiment with perspective and authorship by creating a polyphonic visual exchange.

Our conversation took an elliptical and authorless form, mirroring their collaboration and leaving room for open-ended conclusions. We discussed collectivity, Phyllida Barlow’s legacy, and the role of play in the exhibition-making process.

Aoife Donnellan is a curator and writer based between London and Berlin. Her curatorial and research practice investigates access as a creative method. She is currently completing a PhD in accessibility and contemporary exhibition-making at University College London.

The interview by Aoife Donnellan is published on the occasion of the group exhibition ‘Invited Guests’ by Kian Benson Bailes, Orla McHardy and Anna Spearman at The Dock, 19 October 2024 — 18 January 2025. The exhibition was selected through an open call by Kati Kivinen, Head of Exhibitions at Helsinki Art Museum, and Mary Conlon, Director at The Dock.