Micheál O'Connell, Tomasz Madajczak & Mairéad Vaughan

Each artist brings distinct experience – Vaughan as a choreography and dance artist, Madajczak and O’Connell from visual art backgrounds – yet they share decades of sustained engagement in art contexts. They will work with the growing inventory developed so far, selecting material for presentation while keeping open the possibility of a collective work. Ideas of collision, agonism, and resistance inform their discussions and appear in their moving image experiments. The residency offers a focused period to examine these dynamics in practice.

Public engagement will be integrated into the process. The artists will work visibly in the studio spaces – at times separately, at times together – opening their doors to each other and visitors at set moments. Public interactions may take various forms, from performative elements and somatic explorations to physical readymades and audio-visual material. Towards the end of the residency, they will host a discussion with visitors, reflecting on the project, its themes, and the dynamics of agonistic collaboration.

Beyond the residency, this period will help determine whether to extend the project further, refining its direction, securing resources, and exploring new possibilities.
“I don’t hope to achieve any particular outcome, other than researching, collaborating, inquiring, pushing against.”

Mairéad Vaughan’s artistic practise, arises out of a thirty-five year contemporary and post-modern dance background. Her current work seeks a re-set – a return to zero. Working both collaboratively and autonomously within a multidisciplinary context – 2 simple questions arise – What happens when we pause? What happens when we know nothing at all?

Tomasz Madajczak is a visual artist whose practice explores themes of perception, identity, and interaction with the environment. Originally from Poland and based in Ireland, his work spans photography, video, installation, and socially engaged projects. Often responding to specific locations, he investigates notions of presence, absence, and transformation. Madajczak’s projects frequently involve collaborative and participatory elements, creating spaces for dialogue and exchange. His work has been exhibited internationally in galleries, museums, and site-specific contexts. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, he continues to develop interdisciplinary projects that challenge conventional ways of seeing and experiencing.

Micheál O’Connell (a.k.a. Mocksim) is an artist whose work disrupts systems, conventions, and technological processes. Often using absurdity and appropriation, he interrogates the structures underpinning digital culture, bureaucracy, and everyday life. His projects span moving image, physical readymades, performance, and data-driven interventions. O’Connell’s work has been exhibited internationally, including in major galleries and unconventional public spaces. His long-term artistic research explores the intersection of technology, power, and control in contemporary society.

Individual handles: Insta: @mairead.vaughan.artuning @mocksim and @tomaszmadajczak – Using other platforms too like BSky and Facebook

Individual sites: https://www.maireadvaughan.com/ https://www.tomaszmadajczak.com/ and https://www.mocksim.org

WCAC acknowledges the financial support of Cork County Council and The Arts Council in making these residencies possible.