Need a break from the festive mayhem?

Bloomers, a multi-channel arts organisation, have just launched an intriguing tour of the city that you can take any time you like until December 26th, 2020… and all you need to enjoy it is a phone and a pair of headphones.

The Hypertext Exhibition Map is a QR exhibition trail, which twins locations around Cork City with moving image pieces, using QR codes printed on stickers.

The QR codes link to moving image pieces, “exploring the relationship between the digital and the physical worlds and electronic games that mirror and reproduce digital landscapes and objects.”

Collaborating with the National Sculpture Factory and CIT Grand Parade Gallery, a downloadable Google map contains pins dropped to site-specific locations where QR Codes are placed.

Artist Leah Bredendieck’s, In event of moon disaster, 1969, is comprised of collected recordings of several of Richard Nixon’s speeches, edited to the text of “In event of moon disaster”, written in 1969 by William Safire to be delivered by Nixon in case the Apollo 11 astronauts could not be recovered from the moon.

The QR sticker for this is placed by Cork City Hall, emphasising the institutionalism and political environment that coexists with the narrative of the achievements of mankind.

Cork artist Natasha Bourke’s piece Insideout Tryptich is featured at the site of the old FÁS Building, allowing the participant to revisit this site of artistic importance to the city and experience it through the lens of Bourke’s experimental film performance, inspired by the building.

Similarly, Aoibheann Brady’s An A to Z Of What To Do When You Miss The Bus is positioned outside Parnell Place Bus Station. The artist’s humorous blend of found footage paired with an artificially generated voice-over, suggests an alphabet of things to do with ‘F’ for Family Car, ‘L’ for ‘Levitate’ showing old black and white footage of a magician practising levitation and ‘G’ for ‘Gyrate’, showing a kitsch motorised hula doll.

All in all, it’s a great way to get some socially-distanced fresh air, exercise and a bit of culture.