Similarly to all other contemporary arts organisations, CAST are under-resourced for their expected output and are answerable to a range very different government and community bodies. This results in a proliferation of contradictory requirements that need to be met – ones that are difficult to meet due to their opposing nature. To address this, CAST has appointed an Officer for Contradictory Requirements who is responsible for identifying such requirements and rebalancing the activities and output of the organisation to meet them.

TRANSLATION (Provided by the Artist)

My contribution to this exhibition is both an art work and a form of unpaid employment. The work is an example of a type of contemporary art where artists change aspects of “real life” to produce effects that can be amusing, imaginative, emotive, idealistic or provocative.

Here, my focus is on contradictory requirements in CAST - pairs of requirements that seem to be conflicting and impossible to fulfil at the same time. For example, as a contemporary art organisation, CAST is required to run exhibitions of new, innovative art that can often be difficult to understand, even for artists. However, CAST receives government funding and therefore, has an obligation to the general public to present exhibitions that everyone can appreciate.

My job is to identity contradictory requirements and to provide solutions to address shortfalls; this translation is one of these solutions and is intended to make this work more accessible for an audience that does not already have an in-depth understanding of contemporary art and the organisations that support it.

As a final note, it must be added that while I conceptually address a wide range of issues, I only practically engage with one: to help the CAST staff retain a sense of the artistry in the art they manage while they are immersed in the practicalities of its exhibition, I have introduced daydreaming as a standard work practice.