Paul O' Neill
https://www.neme.org/projects/emap/paul-o-neill
we are all going to make it
Establishing a series of similarities between Ireland and Cyprus as a starting point: location at the periphery of Europe; colonial legacy; partitioned state; proximity to larger geopolitical actors; and low corporate tax rate, this residency was used to research the corporate, physical and social infrastructure of the internet of Cyprus. Developed from this research, we are all going to make it is a series of experimental works including a locative media work and a video piece engaging with networked surveillance, digital sovereignty, data colonialism and other related themes. In doing so, the work serves as a critique of techno-delusional narratives and ideologies while celebrating community, transparency and resilience.
Paul O’ Neill is an artist and researcher currently based in Dublin, Ireland. His practice and research are concerned with the implications of our collective dependency on networked technologies and infrastructures. He has exhibited and presented his work at various cultural institutions and events including Science Gallery (Dublin), Ars Electronica festival (Linz) and Inspace (Edinburgh) and his writing has featured in publications from the Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam) and ANNEX – Ireland’s representative at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Paul is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the ADAPT Centre for AI-Driven Content Technology, University College Dublin.
Frank Sweeney is an artist with a research based practice, using found material to approach questions of collective memory, experience and identity through film and sound.
Recent work includes People enjoy my company (no_matter_here at Brightening Air June 2021, Transmediale Berlin Aug 2021, IMMA Sept 2021, Cork International Film Fest Nov 2021, BFI Southbank 2022); Palace of Purification (A4 Sounds 2021) film with Claudine Chen, Michelle Doyle, Kerry Guinan, Megan Scott; Cornaleena, film at Musictown Festival with Coilín O’Connell, Kevin Barry, David Kitt, Jennifer Walshe (April 2021); All I believe happened there was vision (film launched aemi online with a introductory text from Rebecca O’Dwyer 2020, Wexford Doc Film Fest 2020); Made Ground film with Eva Richardson McCrea (Temple Bar Gallery + Studios 2021, SoftSpot Manchester 2020, Green on Red 2019). Made Ground was purchased for the Arts Council Collection in 2021.
Recent awards include the EVA International Platform Commission, aemi & SIRIUS Film Commission 2022, Best Documentary at LUFF Switzerland, the Arts Council’s Next Generation Award, Film Bursary and Project Award, a Project Studio at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Brightening Air funding 2021, Sligo Artist Panel for 2020-2025, Science Gallery Rapid Residency and a nomination for Best Sound Design at the Irish Theatre Awards.
Interview
Yiannis Colakides. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and your work within the context of the EMAP residency?
Paul O’ Neill. I am an artist and researcher currently based at the ADAPT Centre for Artificial Intelligence at University College Dublin in Ireland. Broadly speaking, my practice is concerned with our collective dependency on networked technologies and infrastructures. Over the past five years, my focus has primarily been on the physical, social and corporate infrastructure of the internet in Ireland. I have documented things such as sub-sea cables, data centres along with the many tech companies based in the country. This has resulted in various outputs such as walking tours, installations and I have also written quite a lot on the subject too. This background informed my EMAP project which as you know is very geographically specific. Focusing on the many similarities between Ireland and Cyprus as a starting point, such as their location at the periphery of Europe; shared colonial legacies; partitioned state; proximity to larger geopolitical actors; and low corporate tax rate, I have used the residency to document Cyprus’ internet infrastructure and situate it within wider techno-political and colonial contexts.
YC. And since you got here, is it what you expected it to be and broadly speaking what have you discovered?
PON. Yes and no, I’m still trying to work it all out to be honest. There are similarities in terms of the colonial legacies of communications, everything from subsea cables to the postal system – following independence Cyprus painted the red postboxes of the United Kingdom yellow, whereas Ireland painted them green! From a more contemporary perspective, Cyprus heavily promotes itself in terms of tech through its geographical location, English-speaking workforce, and attractive tax incentives, much like Ireland does. My research has been mostly focused on Limassol which is full of internet companies and services resulting in many tangible signs of platform culture such as the ubiquitous Russian fintech company Exness’ employee cars, multiple co-working spaces aimed at digital nomads, NFT clubs where you can ‘spend some profit and have fun’, and cafes and bars named after crypto fads. This has contributed to issues related to gentrification and housing, which again is very similar to Ireland, although the Irish housing crisis can’t be blamed solely on tech companies, whereas in Limassol my understanding is that it is directly related to the recent influx of tech companies.
Another layer to the research is the overlapping histories of colonialism, covert communications and surveillance on the island. Historically, the British Sovereign Base Areas were important strategic locations for UK/US signals intelligence programs such as ‘Echeleon’ and ‘Tempora’ and while RAF Akrotiri is believed to be where the ‘Lincolnshire Poacher’ number station was transmitted from for over 50 years. Surveillance still permeates the island, recently the European Parliament’s Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) committee identified Cyprus as an important European Hub for surveillance software. Even here there are links between Ireland and Cyprus – Tal Dilian, the (former) CEO of WiSpear, the Israeli company behind the ‘spyvan’ scandal in 2019 also founded the surveillance company ‘Intellexa’ which is owned by a holding company registered in Dublin. Due its size, location and historical legacies, Ireland is very much beholden to the influence of bigger geopolitical actors, in particular the United States, the UK, and the European Union. This is also true of Cyprus but even more so with Greece, Turkey, Russia, Israel, and China all having significant interests in, and on, the island.
Other interesting discoveries relate to internet access and control. The focus of this work is not on the ‘Cyprus Problem’ per se, however, when visiting Northern Cyprus I learned about issues surrounding connectivity – you can see this in the sub-sea cables that land on the island as a whole, there approximately fourteen connecting to the island but only two land in the North and they connect directly to Turkey. I was also intrigued to learn about Logosnet, which was the first internet service provider to enter the Cypriot market in the 1990s and is actually owned by the Church of Cyprus – there are so many different techno-political threads to unravel in Cyprus.
YC. Can you tell us a little bit more about the collaborative process involved in the work.
PON. I am collaborating with the artist and filmmaker Frank Sweeney, who is also based in Dublin and shares similar research interests with me. We spent a week filming in Limassol, Nicosia, and around the Troodos mountain and are working on an experimental piece that will focus on surveillance, colonialism, and more broadly, tech culture. Aside from collaborating with Frank, nothing would have been possible without the invaluable support of the community surrounding NeMe. I’ve been extremely fortunate to meet with some great people including Marios Isaakides, Alexia Achilleos, Athena Chari, Aysu Arsoy, Yiannis Christidis, Baris Parlan, Alex Welch, Emiddio Vasquez, and of course, yourself and Helene for your invaluable guidance, support and patience.
YC. What about the places you filmed, did you encounter any issues?
PON. I won’t go too much into this now as we’ve just started editing and I’m not sure what we will be using, but I’m happy to return to it when the work is finished. We encountered more issues documenting luxurious high-rise apartment buildings than military communications infrastructure – read into that what you will. And also the heat! Filming in the midday sun, especially on rooftops, is never a good idea, you live and you learn…
YC. Considering the very local research you did, how and why will this artwork be relevant to the wider media arts community and indeed to the wider public?
PON. The research may be local but the themes that the work is concerned with are definitely not, and I hope, will resonate with diverse publics.
YC. And finally, the current title of the work we are all going to make it, does it have a specific meaning?
PON. There is a coffee shop in the old town in Limassol called WAGMI. It is a very modern place with a slick aesthetic and attracts a lot of digital nomads.I thought WAGMI was just a name, but I learned from a friend that it actually stands for we’re all gonna make it, an expression that originated in the 4Chan bodybuilding community in the early 2010s before being used as a sort of rallying call in the crypto community – Mark Zuckerberg’s sister Sandi released a song with the same name last year. For me, it perfectly encapsulates the techno-solutionist or indeed delusionist mindset of networked capitalism in Limassol, Dublin and beyond.
