Tonik Wojtyra Paragraph of Possibility Shaun Dacey Neela Kler Malika Montague Sebastian Cichocki Esoteric Footnotes & Archive Primer

Paragraph of Possibility immersed Access Gallery s space for six weeks during November and December in 2011. As part of the installation I discretely and discreetly hung a small painting into Access s office space. Few viewers saw it. It s diminutive size and form apes the privately hung signs that publicly trumpet NO PARKING and NO TRESPASSING. Upon seeing the black and red acrylic text work in my studio, Shaun Dacey intuited that the work comments on the convention of documenting social art practice and performance art. It s true. Often we see artworks through crudely snapped digital photographs. The archive for this project holds over a thousand photos that document its conceptual and narrative arch. Yet, after looking through them, that body of production stills also contain an infinite number of gaps that are necessary to fully spell out the score of the Paragraph of Possibility. Its endeavour from conception to completion has been an improvisationally scripted action whose shape can be described as a deed. As a text work it was cast via letters, words and sentences both written and spoken, from well edited grants to unintelligible grunts. I realized then that the Paragraph of Possibility is unfairly framed by photographic documentation. This humble introduction to the artwork s archive like the installation itself includes NO PHOTOS. Tonik Wojtyra, January 2012

Paragraph of Possibility with the residents of Ross House & the youthful energy of the Urban Native Youth Association Monday night drop-in-art class. 2011. Vowels, consonants, poetry, Joan & Jalene arranging sentences, dot dot dots, Bob s insights about the global economy, Charles insights on the social labyrinth, UNYA laughter, 313 Alexander Street conversation over Jeff s cooking, a porno cop moustache, the way Ross eyes smile ying yang love when I m walking to the back garden where Cait works her soil magic, colours, Cease s giggle, offset print, satin paper, printing it with Boris, edition of seven billion or so. 73.6 x 52.1cm 我有一个梦流浪的旅途中我想望草莓和奶油虛假的希望使我血灑心虛絆倒在哪石頭門上絆倒在同樣的往常面對著同樣的法西斯統治同樣的統治統治統治我轉身超越視覺的來源為了找到希望的起源剎那間誠惶誠恐我幻想誠實我幻想優勝我在誠惶誠恐中成熟如同慢停行這個世界千變大江河流聚集成血從龐克到白領到老天我們想要的是七月的雪一個正式的和平一個擁抱的戰場提前領款草莓和奶油是最完美的因為政治永沒答案現實是錯誤的詩詞才可解答所夢是真實的

Ja mam marzenie... Podróż dystansu za kręciło mnie poza truskawki z śmietaną Fałszywe nadzieje z kierowały wykrwawić się w przestrzeńi żeby pukać w zawalone drzwi żeby pukać na te same nie nie nie żeby odpowiadać na te same faszystowskie reguły te same reguły reguły reguły Zwróciłem się do żriódła po za wzrokię żeby odkryć coś którę mi da nadzieje Okazja w niepokóju Nie próbowałem uczciwości Nie próbowałem zwyciestwa Dojrzaje teras w spokóju To jest tak jak by zwalniać stop i start Słowa zmieniaję kształt Nasza krew leci rzeką jednym kolorem przez kołó kolorów od chuliganów do białych kołnierzy do zupełnego białego światła Chcemy wrzyscy śnieg w lipcu swięty spokój armaty miłosci mieć forsy jak lodu truskawki z smietaną kompletnie są skorelowane Polityka nie ma pojęcia Poetyka rozwiąże wrzystko Rzeczywistość jest błedne Marzenia są prawdą

MESSY Created and conceived in collaboration with the community of Ross House (a small single room occupancy residence) and the Monday night drop-in art class at the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA), Tonik Wojtyra s Paragraph of Possibility was to stand as a public monument. Initially proposed as a text-based public neon to be installed on the exterior of the Downtown Community Courthouse at the intersection of Powell and Gore in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver. Conceptually, the neon sought to engage the need for new dreams in the wake of the supposed failure of the iconic American dream. With housing bubbles, bank bailouts, and high unemployment continuing to batter the psyche of North Americans the idea of everyone having equal opportunities to succeed seems more a distant utopian fantasy rather than a current or even past reality. In theory, the Paragraph s monumental bright light (green-powered by a set of stationary bicycles installed in the atrium of the courthouse) would highlight new positive and uplifting dreams written in collaboration with Ross House and UNYA, presenting the voices of marginalized communities within Vancouver, communities who are constantly represented negatively via mass media as sick, troubled, poor, and needy. Unfortunately, like many public art proposals the Paragraph neon never came to light, caught instead in a web of bureaucratic red tape. After the project received support and funds from various levels of government, the courthouse backed out of hosting the neon due to a future renovation of the building (maybe also due to an upcoming election year and an inability by the court to perhaps fully control the content of the work). Access Gallery was a partner in the development of the project, initially offering administrative support. As the Director/Curator of Access I worked with Tonik throughout the Paragraph project. I held many integral positions for the project; one part administrator, one part grant applicant, one part mentor, one part therapist, one part collaborator, and eventually one part curator, or perhaps all parts curator (Curator equaling administrator, grant writer, mentor, therapist, collaborator, host, cleaner, etc.). With the loss of the courthouse space a few months before the launch of the project, Access became the main physical location for the project. Working alongside Tonik, we re-conceived the project while attempting to maintain a focus on the dissemination of the Paragraph, foster inviting and inclusive conversation regarding the DTES/ Chinatown and its future, and develop a sharing of dreams as useful alternatives to current systems and structures. Through the production of posters, a letter writing campaign, roundtables, a film screening series, an ever-changing installation, an archive, and this publication, we implemented a strategy of dissemination from Access Gallery outwards encouraging conversation and giving space to as many voices as possible. From the onset, the organization of postering throughout the city, mailouts, roundtables, film screenings, the publication, and an installation in the gallery personally gave me cold sweats. It all felt like a large logistical, administrative, and conceptual nightmare. Also, watching the artist and collaborators transform the gallery space into a chaotic and messy hub stood against my formal training as a professional curator where curatorial authorship, control, and maintenance

of the white cube is privileged. Each aspect of the Paragraph project felt like an active experiment that could either coalesce into a compelling project or spiral out of control at any moment. This energy of uncertainty was fruitful. The gallery space and installation was in constant flux, centered around a large roundtable and a rainbow of felt covered pillows, which Tonik produced collaboratively with Russell Baker, a furniture designer, art collector, and local shop owner. The gallery held an aesthetic installation comprised of the Paragraph postered in a cascading colour gradient on one wall, the roundtable centered in the room, a collaboratively produced set of matryoshka dolls entitled From Punk to White Collar, and individual paintings and collage works by Tonik. This material installation became the placeholder for the immaterial actions central to the project. These immaterial actions being the daily labour, exchange, and conversation between Tonik, his collaborators, myself, gallery patrons, and various others who encountered the project by receiving and/or responding to the Paragraph or participating in roundtable discussions. Not concerned with being translatable to a mass public Tonik s project excelled at engaging individuals. Individuals entering the gallery were instantly filled with confusion and uncertainty, lost in the cacophony of objects, people, and limited didactics. Forced to engage in conversation, many would eventually ask What is this? or Are you guys installing? These initial stumbling blocks and awkward moments were successful in achieving a verbal interaction and dialogue either between the artists/collaborators and viewer or viewer and gallery staff. These sorts of interaction were the conceptual core of the project. The daily conversations gave depth and colour to the words in the Paragraph and the installation in Access white cube. Without the sharing of ideas around the table, handwritten letter correspondence, or casual conversations that arose from viewing the work, the project would lose its conceptual edge. The physical record of this, the detritus, the mess left behind from daily human interaction, the mess that began to fill the gallery day after day became the form and material record of the immaterial concept. The gallery became a cluttered hub of ideas, the table and gallery floor filled with envelopes, food containers, pens, and markers. Allowing the artist and collaborators to inhabit the gallery, experiment, and problem solve aesthetic and conceptual ideas ultimately lead to an enriching dialogue. At first, what seemed bewildering and obtuse as an installation actually began to question my role as a curator and also the role of artist-run spaces like Access. I embraced a collaborative vision that felt natural in my curatorial role. Tonik and I responded to issues and ideas at hand and rode a learning curve through the whole process. My curatorial role became less concentrated in controlling and deciphering the work and/or space and instead was focused in nurturing collaboration, support, and mentorship. My curatorial position at Access seems different than many other spaces, the focus being more on enabling experimentation rather than explicitly implementing a personal curatorial vision. This project more so than others I ve completed at Access has been concerned primarily with being open, allowing openness to let artistic ideas and experiments unfold or grow wildly against my curatorial urges to control them. As an artist-run centre, Access is a space for experimentation and emergent contemporary

practices. We invite artists to take risks without having to think about the commercial aspects of their work. In many ways I view Access as an incubator for new ideas. In conclusion, the best thing that could have happened to the Paragraph project happened when the courthouse dropped out and the public monument never came to be. The installation and subsequent side projects, such as the poster, roundtables, mail outs, and film screenings, cultivated an integral dialogue among artists, residents, city planners, activists, gallery patrons, and various others. These integral conversations felt open, honest, and most importantly, urgent in respect to the current gentrification and re-development of the DTES and Chinatown. Versus a neon with its grand monumental scale and singular voice, the Paragraph of Possiblity approached communities and individuals on a one to one scale allowing for an equal sharing of numerous feelings and opinions. 102-313 Alexander Street with two. with Russell Baker & Bombast Furniture 2011. Red, Black, White acrylic, 23k gold, canvas, stretcher bars, red felt, two Mies van der Rohe Brno chairs (1929) 75 x 66cm canvas, 57.8 x 80 x 57.1cm chairs (each) Shaun Dacey, January 2012

An aligned sigh Words Change Shape with a frame from Jonathan Syme, The Workshop 2011. Paper, pencil-crayon, glass, wood, a couple coffees from the Dunlevy Snackbar 29.7 x 21cm I am huge, Spacious, expansive I reach out like the cold that wraps around your body Prickles your skin makes every hair slowly start to stand to reach nerves Like the brain when lit up, or leaves in autumn I swell and fall A cloud materialized I merge and float through The darklands of ephemerality and dreams where I cannot see my own entity White paper wands bound by ribbon Mapped a circular formation A landing pad A satellite We gathered there daily at its centre sometimes over red candle light. Where three coins were cast down, 2 halves touched. Forming portals in palpability

It could be assumed that a flame comes into sight from nowhere A wheeled barrow In late November Pushing west A large Vision a well-raised ideal And every pass, through hands like yours revealing a hidden trail Imbued Implicated Intended to pierce the hardest of minds Not with a thought, but with a mystery Strengthened with paper and canvas antennae held high into the sky we marched casting Across a long, wide scar that was summoned here 2 years after a dreamer died while Angela was being fired this whole place was being bulldozed words representing everyone and no one have yet to be undone Grey clouds further south, it s raining on the beach where a sizeable pile of ash and paper will somehow one day find a way underground to the roots of the Quaking Aspen standing bare of its circular leaves Neela Kler, December 2011

Tomato Saffron Soup This soup gets an aromatic boost from sweet (red) vermouth. 1 large onion, chopped 2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tbsp butter 1/2 tsp garam masala 6-8 strands saffron 1 pinch toasted cumin 1/4 to 1/2 cup sweet vermouth 2 16 oz tins whole tomatoes (if substituting fresh tomatoes, after blending soup, you may want to strain it) ~1/2 cup water 1/4 cup whipping cream, yogurt, or substitute. salt and pepper to taste. In medium soup pot, cook onion on medium heat in butter until almost clear. Grind up the saffron a little with the back of a spoon or a mortar and pestle.add garlic and spices, cook a few more minutes until aromatic. Add vermouth or wine, cook for 5 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, add a little water for consistency if desired.blend with hand blender or allow to cool slightly before blending in batches. Drizzle cream or yogurt on top and serve. Malika Montague, January 2012

Bez tytuły (połamany scenariusz dla A.W.) 2011 The real (that is, naturally following the present) future of the town P. was nonchalantly set aside for a faraway plan. Precisely, things were planned for the year 2037. In the very centre of town two rivers cross one another. A true phenomenon as the waters of the two rivers do not blend together. Numerous research studies have confirmed this. It seems perhaps that this is the source of this whole mess. So things in P. mold themselves without consequences, and also without clear reasons. That s why people meet one another in the street but never remember their neighbour s faces. Children freeze up unable to learn by heart even one simple poem, in proper chronological order. The doldrums in which P. dug itself into is nonetheless more awkward than overwhelming. Anna would call this state a small catastrophe of mind and matter. A ceaseless collision course. Boom! Untitled (a broken scenario for A.W.), 2011 Prawdziwa (czyli naturalnie następująca po teraźniejszości) przyszłość miasteczka P. została beztrosko odsunięta na dalszy plan. Dokładnie rzecz ujmując zaplanowana została na 2037 rok. W samym środku miasta krzyżują się ze sobą dwie rzeki. To prawdziwy fenomen bo woda z obu rzek nie miesza się ze sobą. Potwierdziły to liczne badania naukowe. Wydawać się może, że tu właśnie tkwi źródło całego bałaganu. Rzeczy w P. toczą się więc same bez konsekwencji, ale i bez jasnej przyczyny. Dlatego ludzie wpadają na siebie na ulicy ale nigdy nie zapamiętują twarzy nieznajomych. Dzieci wpadają w odrętwienie nie mogąc przyswoić sobie na pamięć nawet jednego wiersza, w porządku chronologicznym. Bezczas w którym pogrążyło się P. był jednak raczej niezdarny niż przytłaczający. Anna nazwałaby ten stan małą katastrofą umysłu i materii. Nieustanny kurs kolizyjny. Bum!

Untitled (obituary) A. H. - W. H. + J. L. - F. M. - S. S. + W. Z. + J. C. + L. L. + W. H. - P. H. - H. S. - A sign on a wall (modified in the event of death of an individual, whose initials have been used), font Genath, 2008 A parable about a sandbox, popular within the town of P. : There was a sandbox filled to its brim with black and white sand. Black sand filled the right side of the sandbox. White sand filled the left side of the sandbox. One day a small child stepped into the sandbox and walked in a circle clockwise for many hours. When it stopped, the sand was gray. Then the child decided to undo the chaos and began walking in a circle counter clockwise Bez tytułu (nekrolog) A. H. - W. H. + J. L. - F. M. - S. S. + W. Z. + J. C. + L. L. + W. H. - P. H. - H. S. - Napis na ścianie (modyfikowany w przypadku śmierci osoby, której inicjały zostały użyte), font Genath, 2008 Przypowieść o piaskownicy, popularna wśród w miasteczku P. : Była sobie piaskownica wypełniona po brzegi czarnym i białym piaskiem. Czarny piasek wypełniał prawą stronę piaskownicy. Biały piasek wypełniał lewą stronę piaskownicy. Któregoś dnia małe dziecko weszło do piaskownicy i chodziło w kółko zgodnie z ruchem wskazówek zegara przez wiele godzin. Kiedy skończyło, piasek był szary. Wtedy dziecko postanowiło odwrócić ten chaos i zaczęło chodzić w kółko w kierunku odwrotnym do ruchu wskazówek zegara

for many hours. The longer it walked, the more the sand was gray. Crying didn t help. Chaos entered the sandbox for ever. Neon sign, which was installed the night of the 7th and 8th of September 2011 on the facade of the Princess Hotel in Vancouver on the occasion of the city s 125th birthday: S U P E R S T A R S A R E F A D I N G Untitled (recommended camera-targeted activities while travelling, in private) Set # 2. 1. Black square with sides measuring 120cm in length, burnt into grass. Lighter, rope, 4 wooden pegs. 2. Telephone booth, a phone number chosen with the help of dice, carrying on conversation with a stranger for as long as is possible (language of conversation to be chosen freely) 3. Moths (100 pieces) set free in a hotel room at night, tightly shut window, an operating strobe light. Duration: 60 minutes. 4. An automobile windshield being poured on with maple syrup until the operating wipers cease, the passenger side window ajar, radio. 5. Tracking a feral cat for 24 hours. Documentation: drawings, photographs, 35mm film, audio recording. przez wiele godzin. Im dłużej chodziło tym bardziej piasek był szary. Na nic się dały płacze. Chaos wdał się do piaskownicy na zawsze. Neonowy napis, który został zainstalowany w nocy z 7 na 8 września 2011 roku na fasadzie hotelu Princess w Vancouver z okazji 125-lecia miasta: S U P E R S T A R S A R E F A D I N G Bez tytułu (polecane działania do-kamerowe w podróży, bez udziału publiczności) Zestaw nr 2. 1. Czarny kwadrat o długości boku 120 cm, wypalony w trawie. Zapalniczka, sznurek, 4 drewniane kołki. 2. Budka telefoniczna, numer wybrany przy pomocy kostki do gry, podtrzymywanie konwersacji z nieznajomym tak długo jak to tylko możliwe (język konwersacji dowolny). 3. Ćmy (100 sztuk) wypuszczone w pokoju hotelowym nocą, szczelnie zamknięte okno, włączona lampa stroboskopowa. Czas trwania: 60 minut. 4. Przednia szyba samochodu polewana syropem klonowym aż do unieruchomienia włączonych wycieraczek, uchylona szyba od strony kierowcy, radio. 5. Śledzenie bezdomnego kota przez jedną dobę. Dokumentacja: rysunki, fotografie, film 35 mm, zapis audio. Sebastian Cichocki, December 2011

Paragraph of Possibility Archive can be accessed at: Access Gallery, 222 East Georgia Street, Vancouver BC V6A 1Z7 http://accessgallery.ca/paragraph-of-possibility This project was conceived in 2009 and could not have been possible without the help, imagination and work of The Monday night drop-in art class at the Urban Native Youth Association, the residents of Ross House at 313 Alexander Street, Charles Haynes, Ashley Haynes, Liz Vander Zaag, Karen Henry, Barbara Cole, Ken & Paloma Lum, Bryan Newson, Douglas Durand, Kristen Lambertson, Cherryl Masters, Erica Wilk, Neela Kler, Cease Wyss, Robin, Carly Dickinson, Elvis, Joan, Larissa, TJ, Shaun Dacey, Bob Greenwood, Jon Elder, Joji Kumagai & The Strathcona BIA, Russell Baker & Bombast, Rob Shantz at Neonworks, Kitty Scott, Sarah Fuller, Jenifer Papararo, Kim Nguyen, Malika Montague, Simoooone, Brandon Edwards, Jalene, Sebastian Cichocki, Brian McBay, Doug McBay, Hannah Elizabeth Reinhart, Jeff Williams, Robert Fisher, Caitlin Hurley, Theo Lloyd-Kohls, Bernadette Phan and Carnegie Outreach, Sharon Belli, Cecily Nicholson, Ivan Drury, Oliver Li, Nadja Schnetzler, Markus Mettler, Kristina Matthiessen, Fan-Ling Suen, Jess Guthrie, Ken Yuen, Jaz Lally, Bogusław Wojtyra, finally Miles Collyer & Ann Dean for... Access Gallery gratefully acknowledges support from the City of Vancouver s 125th Anniversary Grants Program and the participation of the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, our members and volunteers. Black CMYK Pantone

From punk to white collar with the Urban Native Youth Association Monday night drop-in art class. 2011. Gouache, pencil, seven nesting Matryoshka dolls, Robin s excitement, Simone s drawing prowess, all of our giddiness. Dimensions Variable