Whatever Else

hannah_g was the first guest editor for this limited edition project.

Whatever Else recovered the single broadsheet as an alternative exhibition space. The broadsheets were quietly distributed throughout Winnipeg and elsewhere. Co-published by As We Try & Sleep Press and Intercopy, 2011.

Interview published for Derek Dunlop’s exhibition End Forms at Lisa Kehler Art + Projects 2015

Published by Lisa Kehler Art + Projects.

The following interview took place between Derek Dunlop and Winnipeg-based writer, artist, and dj, Hannah Godfrey.


hannah_g: Let’s start with the basics: paint. The paint that you are using for these works is important and particular. Could you talk about the manufacturer of this paint and what makes it unique?

Derek Dunlop: For the most part, these paintings were made using Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colours. I started using them in the summer of 2014 when I was artist in residence with the Golden Foundation for the Arts in upstate New York. During the residency, I was able to experiment with all the material that GOLDEN makes. Williamsburg Oils are all handmade in small batches. They were developed by the artist Carl Plansky in the 1980’s and GOLDEN took over producing them in 2010 after Plansky passed away. The paint is produced in a very traditional way. The grind of the pigments in each colour reflects how best that colour will appear when mixed with the binder. As a result, each colour has a unique texture, mass, sheen, density, brightness, and depth. The paint is close to what early paint manufacturers would have produced before the over-commodification and industrialization of artist supplies in the 20th century. In my experience, only oil can achieve the subtle effects of colour that I seek.

hg: These particular paints with their individual textures and properties are fundamentally anti-generic, and this seems in line with a queer practice. Taking and then queering colours is subversive and expansive: what does it mean to queer colour? 

DD: I’m not entirely sure what it means to queer colour. And I’m not entirely sure that I am queering colour. I started producing work for this show by researching colour. I’ve produced about a dozen different colour charts. Some of the paintings have up to seventy-two colours on one canvas. I do think a lot about the historical value of colour and its materiality. I think about how our feelings towards colours have histories, how they are subjective and yet still specific. Many of the paintings in this exhibition explore ambiguous colours with a paired-down palette. These colours are created by mixing complementary colours in order to create shades of grey, and then altering the tone.

hg: These works have more overt emotion in them, there’s a different kind of search happening. What has influenced your trajectory to this point? 

DD: My process is becoming less systematic and slightly more poetic. I give myself more room to move. Many of the paintings in the show deal with a very basic compositional strategy of creating a square out of a rectangle, and then improvising with materials in order to express a thought or feeling. It isn’t predetermined. In terms of abstraction, I am interested in process and form equally. How can a way of working complicate and expand our ideas about subjectivity?

hg: The emotion in the work is rooted, of course, in your body which also contains your deep engagement with art history and the history of painting in particular, queer theory, social politics. Your gestures with paint and your choices of colour are intuitive here but that intuition is grounded in rigour. Was it difficult to adopt this process? What were the stakes?

DD: I am constantly responding to my materials, and often there is a compromise between how I want my materials to perform and how they are performing. My most successful paintings go through moments of creation and destruction. I acknowledge the double bind that exists within contemporary painting practice: the desire to paint mixed with the recognition of the limitations of the material. My desire to paint is guided by how it relates to my drawings, and where drawing and painting overlap. Both practices represent a kind of longing and a desire for transformation: a longing for visibility and a longing for invisibility.

hg: What role did your body play in these paintings?

DD: Touch is important to my process. I often think about embodied knowledge. How do we find value in other forms of knowledge? What does this knowledge look like? How are social forces embedded in the body, and how do they find material form?

hg: The space which the paintings create within themselves and within the viewer demands conscious involvement in both spheres. It is a complex experience that involves a degree of surrender and of trust. Does this mirror your state when you produced them?

DD: Trust is very important when considering a work of art. There are so few common registers these days for determining value in art. That’s probably a good thing.  I put a lot of trust in my process.  I trust my instincts. My process has developed over time. Each series relates to the one before.

hg: Are you asserting a radical approach to the tangled act of looking?

DD: I value difficulty. Which is probably more closely linked to a modernist project than what is happening in contemporary art. Cultural information, including art, is communicated in simple ways. The concept of difficulty has an important role to play in the creation and reception of artworks. Not difficulty for the sake of isolating the viewer, but as a technique for interrogating how objects generate meaning.

The MonkeySparrow

MonkeySparrow iii

A weekly radio show broadcast every Tuesday, 10.30pm, on CKUW, 95.9 fm
Hosted by hannah_g with guest writers & music lovers. 30 minutes of ideas and music.

Original Stories based on This City & Elsewhere, Essays & Letters that attempt to Comprehend The Insignificant and Too Large, and Music from a Juxtapostastic Collection of Known, New, Answered, & Fated.

It’s recommended to listen via mixcloud. Glitches are less, and you can play it on any device. Mixcloud pays royalties to the music makers also.

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Meandering Chat Along the Assiniboine River 2 – 2021

Meandering Chat Along the Assiniboine River 1 – 2021

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A Traveller’s Journey – Salma Faraji – 7 July 2020

The Bee, The Architect, and the Human by Saio Sofa Gradin – 16 June 2020

French electro pop special- monkey mix- 21 April 2020

#3- Plague Fantasies – a collaboration between Ken Gregory & hannah_g 14 April 2020

#1- Plague Fantasies – a collaboration between Ken Gregory and hannah_g – 7 April 2020

Some Poems by Carrie Rhys-Davies – 24 March 2020

On Fire mix- 10 March 2020

A Reading by Grace Han – 3 March 2020

A Magpie Response to Aaron Zeghers’ Retrospective – 17 December 2019

Thoughts on Irene Bindi’s notte sopra vipere sotto – 10 December 2019

A Magpie Response to Freya Björg Olafson’s Motion AfterEffect – 5 November 2019

Yellow Stains by Jean Borbridge – 3 December 2019

A List by Rachel Crummey – 29 October 2019

Selected poems from ishq by Reza Rezaï – 23 July 2019

A Concerto by David Lewiston Sharpe – 16 July 2019

A Sawng by Matea Radic – 9 July 2019

Monkey Mix – 2 July 2019

Notes on Fluids by Madeline Rae – 4 June 2019

The Autobiography of S. Moderne/Suzanne Gillies by Suzanne Gillies and Douglas Sigurdson. 28 May 2019.

21 May 2019 mix

Soft Stitches, Pink Tongue- Jillian Groening – 14 May 2019

San Fran nights monkey mix – 30 April 2019

A Tin of Peaches by hannah_g – 23 April 2019

Monkey Mix – 16 April 2019

Monkey Mix- Sparky Goes West – 9 April 2019

Monkey Mix- Like A Prayer – 2 April 2019

Monkey Mix- dog of my heart – 26 March 2019

Monkey Mix- 19 March 2019

Monkey Mix – 5 March 2019

Monkey Mix 26 February 2019

Monkey Mix – 19 February 2019

Monkey Mix – 5 Feburary 2019

Monkey Mix- 29 January 2019

Some Writing by Gislina Patterson, 22 January 2019

I Shall Love Myself In Installments  by Jase, 15 January 2019

8 January 2019- Getting Beyond: Deaf Squab/Yoruba Drums

Sarah Atkinov, Big Thoughts, Small Space 1 January 2019

25 December 2018 mix

18 December 2019 mix

11 December 2018 mix- crys cole and greenhouse

4 December 2018 mix- MonkeySparrow

Films & video of Scott Fitzpatrick- incomplete notes – 27 November 2018

Last day/First day- a mix by monkeysparrow – 20 November 2018

Satisfied, and tickled too- a mix by monkeysparrow – 13 November 2018

Not winter yet- monkey mix, 6 November 2018

Singing and ploughing by hannah_g, 17 October 2018

miss/don’t miss mix by the monkey, 2 October 2018

From the birds –  a monkey mix, 11 September

Untucked – a monkey mix, 28 August 2018

Hickey by Davis Plett, 21 August 2018

Three Pieces by Christina Hajjar, 14 August 2018

Tall Tales by Esui Saga, 7 August 2018

Extracts by Roewan Crowe, 31 July 2018

Cyclone Season by Kat Nancy, 24 July 2018

Melty Mix by MonkeySparrow, 10 July 1018

Tall Tails: Strange Animals by Esui Saga, 3 July 2018

Transcribing by Luke Nickel, 26 June 2018

Four Days An Inch by Francesca Carella Arfinengo, 19 June 2018

A Monkey Mix for the shortest nights, 29 May 2018

An extract from Not For The World Would I Compare It To Anything by Hannah Godfrey, 22 May 2018

Scenes from Boundary Avenue, a new play from One Trunk Theatre and storytellers Abdul Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed, 15 May 2018

Some Poems by Sage, 8 May 2018

Tall Tails: stories of past pets loved and missed by Esui Saga, 1 May 2018

An essay by Sage, 24 April 2018

Peach Satin Slippers by Stephanie Poruchnyk-Butler, 17 April 2018

Two Poems by Lissie Rappaport, 10 April 2018

Cyril and Donald Eat Ethiopian by Saz Massey, 3 April 2018

The Day My Dad Found Out Ellen DeGeneres is Gay by Ugonna Chigbo, 27 March 2018

More Beginnings & Ends by Christine Kirouac, 20 March 2018

Health & social predictors: applications to public housing (an extract) – Aynslie Hinds, 13 March 2018

Language Games – Mariana Muñoz Gomez, 27 February 2018

The Bird Who Spoke by Nic Wilson, 20 February 2018

Writing by Jennifer Ilse Black, 6 February 2018

A story by Chelsea Peters, 9 January 2018

Hillway by Ericca Godfrey, 26 December 2017

Monkey mix 5 December 2017

nN17 mix by the Monkey, 14 November 2017

Garbage by Saz Massey, 7 November 2017

31 Oc0tober 2017: Monkey mix

24 October 2017: A Monkey Mix

17 October 2017: Pale Pink Sky by Meghan Zahari

10 October 2017: Ricin: A Cellular Assassin by Saz Massey

29 August 2017: A Metal Mix by Colton Rempel

22 August 2017: Birds and Songs for Lynx Eye Lew

15 August 2017: Poems by Colin Smith

13 June 2017: Monkey Mix

6 June 2017: Some Poems by Julian Kirchmann

30 May 2017:  Trichy Situation an essay by Saz Massey

23 May 2017: Beginnings and Ends: Episodes Of Online Dating with Christine Kirouac

16 May 2017: Monkey Mix

4 April 2017: Xs & Os by Elise Dawson

28 March 2017: Three Buckets by Andrew Lodwick

14 March 2017: Deaf And Disability Arts: Insiders, Outsiders and the Potential Of Progressive Studios by Kristin Nelson

7 March 2017: Poems By Andrew Eastman

28 February 2017: Music for Thinking- a MonkeySparrow mix

21 February 2017: Also As Well Too talk by Kegan McFadden Part 2

14 February 2107: The Famous Goose Wurlitzer of Portage & Main- Fundrive special

7 February 2017: Also As Well Too talk by Kegan McFadden Part 1

31 January 2017: The Ocean, a reading by Cecilia Araneda from her novel.

24 January 2017: Poems by Jaz Papadopolous

Tenth     &    Seventeenth     January 2017:  mixes (excuse the Judas Priest intro)

3 January 2017: OK, 2017 a mix by the Monkey

27 December 2016:Big Picture Attempts: a mix by the Monkey

20 December 2016:Not Christmassy At All: a mix by the Monkey

13 December 2016: Institutional Generosity a paper delivered at The Wnnipeg Effect Symposium by hannah_g

6 December 2016: Another Kind Of Desire a story by Jeremiah Gibbons

29 November 2016: Music by the Monkey

22 November 2016: A poem For Helga by hannah_g

15 November 2016: The Early Years by Ericca Godfrey

8 November 2016: An extract from Shopping Cart Pantheon by Jeanne Randolph

20 September 2016: On ‘A Doll’s House’ an essay by Adrielle Parley

13 September 2016: Lilacs: an essay by Kegan McFadden

sixth and twenty-seventh September 20167- mixes by MonkeySparrow

23 August 2016: Lessons From A Nude Man– a story by Donna Besel

second     ninth      sixteenth    thirtieth   Monkey music mixes from august 2016

19 July 2016: Corduroy & Cigars– a mix by Marisa Godfrey

12 July 2016: Our Darling Arlington by Choi Ho

5 July 2016: Reading by Murat Ates

28 June 2016: Extract from Shopping Cart Pantheon ready by the author Jean Randolph

21 June 2017: Some things I Have Tried by Doreen Girard

17 May 2016: A story by Eric Plamondon

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10 May 2016: Music to bring back the sun: a mix by the Monkey

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3 May 2016: With Sufficient Distance: extracts from an essay by Jeanette Johns

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26 April 2016: Drinking The Finger Bowl: an essay by Alex King

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12 April 2016: The In Betweens: an essay by Alison James

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5 April 2016: Where Are All The Textile Artists? an essay by Jennifer Smith

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22 March 2016: The Landscape Of Death– an essay by Tricia Wasney

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15 March 2016 : Tolstoy Gets Lyrical- a reading.

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9 March 2016: Baby Class– an essay by Esther Simmonds MacAdam

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22 February 2016: Valdes The Barber: a story by hannah_g

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9 Feburary 2016: The Scarf of Doom- Fundrive special. A story by hannah_g

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26 January 2016: Poetry reading: Ted Hughes, Joanne Epp, Carol Ann Duffy

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19 January 2016: ThinkCog by Kevin Doole

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12 January 2016: Skating: a story by hannah_g

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5 January 2016: A Week In Martinique – an essay by hannah_g

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2015


24 November 2015: Why Matthew Sawatsky Is Not Like Gertrude Stein– an essay by C. Graham Asmundson

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17 November 2015: Remembering Music – an essay by hannah_g

What Song Grabbed You By The Heart & Got You Into Music? – a mix by BossRoss

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10 November 2015: a mix by Craig Claire

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3 November 2015: on Loving Bodies– an essay by Victoria King

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3 November 2015: Poetry Readings & Music- selections by Matthew Sawatsky

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27 October 2015: Halloween Hauntings In The Home: Horror & Interior Design

an essay and mix y Hannah Nutmeg Crosson

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 20 October 2015: Lost Souls an essay by Liberty Karp. Mix by hannah_g.

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 13 October 2015: Witches & Feminism an essay and mix by Helga Jakobson

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6 October 2015: Brushes With The Supernatural a ramble by hannah_g

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29 September: Nanny Odjig & The Gleaners by hannah_g

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22 September: Nanny Odjig by hannah_g (a story in response to Tiverton Museum artefacts)

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15 September: A Few Notes On Loneliness by hannah_g

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8 September: Summer, Autumn, September- David Cain and Ronald Duncan from The Seasons; ‘I loved you’- by Alexander Pushkin

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1 September: For Amusement Only– an essay and mix by Courtney R. Thompson

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24 August: Marital Dissolution & The Art Of Confession– an essay by Bryan Goertz

Songs of failure; songs of hope – a mix by Bryan Goertz

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18 August: Poems by A. Nowlan and Jesse Matas

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11 August: A Few Notes On Pain an essay by hannah_g

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28 July listen via mixcloud |   download via CKUW

Natalie Daoust: A Cracked Spider Egg an essay by hannah_g

21 July listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Watermelon ice cream by hannah_g

Canoeing with Avi by hannah_g

14 July listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

100% Birgitta by hannah_g

7 July listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Being Watched an essay by hannah_g


30 June  listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Travel Shorts: 31J; Cristina; Dawn Chorus by hannah_g

Greek, Iranian, Tanzanian, Jamaican, & Chinese folk music mix.

 23 June   listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Poems: Train Journey by Judith Wright; Adlestrop by Edward Thomas

Essay: I Want A Train by Jamie Wright

16th June   listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Response: New Zealand vs China – The Hadron Effect by hannah_g
Essay: Authority, Power, and Evan Soloman by hannah_g

9th June    listen via mixcloud  |   download via CKUW

Poems: Frank O’Hara & Elizabeth Bishop

Essay: Feeling A Little Queer by hannah_g

2nd June    listen via mixcloud  |   download via CKUW

Poems: Margaret Atwood & Selima Hill

Essay: Listening to Tennis by hannah_g


5th May     listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Extract from Chicago Of  The North- I, by hannah_g
Essay: “Dwell. Separate. (Upon Estate: A Reverie)”, by hannah_g

12th May     listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Response: Natasha Torres Garner solo, Vampire Alberta Blues, by hannah_g

Extract from Chicago Of  The North- II, by hannah_g

Essay: “Micro Mobility”, by hannah_g

19th May   |  listen via mixcloud|   download via CKUW

Response: Steven Leyden Cochrane’s exhibition, Screen Wall at RAWGallery

Response: Rosemary Scanlon’s exhibition, X-ray Lake, KIAC, by hannah_g

Extract from Chicago Of The North- III, by hannah_g

25th May   |  listen via mixcloud   |   download via CKUW

Essay: A Bolt, by hannah_g

Extract from Chicago Of The North- IV, by hannah_g

Readings (selected)

Manitoba Writers’ Guild AGM , Winnipeg, November 2014

Negative Space, Winnipeg, Spring, 2012

PLATFORM: centre for digital + photographic arts, Winnipeg, August 2011

Landsdowne Prize for Poetry, supporting reader, Winnipeg, February 2011

Aqua Books, Winnipeg, July 2010

Folk Tales At The Scout Hut, Bristol, August 2008

The Cube Microplex, Bristol, 2005

Cafe Kafka, Vienna, April 2004