MAYDAY is a unique programme that took place on 1 May 2022. Its length recalls the length of the flight in which the first human orbited the Earth.

Nathalie Weadick and Hugh Campbell brought together 17 artists and thinkers whose work resonated with the themes, forms and experiences of the exhibition:

I, i. In which Tom de Paor Jr plays drums.
I,ii. In which Raymund Ryan, Curator at the Heinz Architectural Center in Pittsburgh, reads his 2002 piece ‘Mindscapes and Landgames’.
I, iii.  In which the poet Vona Groarke reads a new poem.
I, iv. In which Sergio Lopez-Pineiro, Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at Harvard GSD, observes the space in between the lines.
I, v. In which artist Isadora Epstein makes a performance about the willow pattern.
I, vi. In which Nasrine Seraji, Professor of Architectural Design at UCD, proposes that a drawing is a flight.
I, vii. In which artist and author Adrian Duncan presents a new video-work entitled ‘Finite Elements’.
I, viii. In which Lisa Godson, Director of MA Design History and Material Culture at NCAD, presents ‘Guest, Opium Lovers, Clay Companion, Paper Comrade, Smoke, Fellas’.
I, ix. In which the artist Dennis McNulty presents ‘Love Is A Stranger’ (MAYDAY edit), 2021-22.

II, i. In which Emmett Scanlon, architect, curator and educator, reads a new piece about the work of Tom de Paor.
II, ii. In which the artist Brian Fay, Senior Lecturer at TU Dublin, discusses the nature of lines.
II, iii. In which Penelope Haralambidou, Professor of Architecture and Spatial Culture at the Bartlett, presents her film ‘City of Ladies’, based on Christine de Pizan’s ‘Book of the City of Ladies’, c. 1405.
II, iv. In which the artist Isabel Nolan talks about space and hard-to-define boundaries and love and hopefully a bit about Giordano Bruno.
II, v. In which artist Alex Pentek responds to ‘i see Earth’.
II, vi. In which the architect Oana Stanescu, Design Critic at Harvard GSD, presents her piece ‘Closer to Song than Rock’.
II, vii. In which Grainne Hassett, Head of Architecture at UL, talks about farming, lines and water.
II, viii. In which the musician Davey Kehoe plays ‘When I Saw You’ by The Ronettes.

Each contribution remains autonomous while travelling in the exhibition’s gravitational field. Some contributions were made in person in the gallery, others remotely, traversing space and time.

This recording presents all contributions and captures the energy of the live event, for those unable to attend in person. The interval has been edited out.

MAYDAY performance for i see Earth (c) Irish Architecture Foundation 2022. Produced by Hedgehog Productions.

‘i see Earth’ Building and Ground 1991-2021 was an immersive exhibition by one of Ireland’s foremost architects, Tom dePaor. Featuring 3D suspended sculptures and filmed work by long-term collaborator Peter Maybury, the exhibition ran from 26 February to 22 May 2022. i see Earth was curated by Nathalie Weadick and produced by the Irish Architecture Foundation and VISUAL Carlow and was funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.