Future Perfect: New Byelaws for Civic Spaces is a hopeful, positive act of re-configuration. Byelaws that regulate behaviours in civic spaces—in this case  Paisley’s “Rules for the Management of Public Parks”—are cut up word-by-word and meticulously rearranged into a new set of rules for a transitioning world.

From this new poetic script, selected phrases are enlarged and re-inserted back into the architecture of the cityscape on hoardings and giant billboards, acting as playful instructions, permissions or manifestos; a collection of imagined alternative behaviours unfolding throughout the city. From the words of Paisley’s existing byelaws, an accidental poetry emerges that re-constructs, re-engineers and rehearses possible futures.

A large-scale remnant of the cut-up process, the billboards and signs work against the fast-moving digital dialogues of the internet, media and advertising. As the hand-pasted signs appear in the urban landscape, a slow-moving narrative develops that invites the reader to imagine alternative ways to move through civic space.

You are invited to help with reconstructing Paisley’s new Future Perfect byelaws! Visit our interactive website (launched early May) to submit your own new rule, using cut-up words from the original text. Then look out for Paisley’s new byelaws as they appear around town.

Future Perfect is a collaboration between UK performance makers Action Hero, and Canadian visual artists Mia + Eric.

This new collaboration between Action Hero and Mia + Eric was formed after the duos were introduced during an artist double-date in Calgary, and each realised they’d met their artist doppelgangers. They decided to work together as an artistic supergroup and create a project for public space.

Mia + Eric are a Canadian visual art duo from Calgary, Alberta who have many years of experience working in socially engaged practice and site-specific public art, spanning both gallery and public art contexts. Their work has been presented throughout North America and Europe. http://miaanderic.ca

Action Hero are an artist duo who live in Bristol, UK, who have over a decade of experience making work that collaborates with audiences and the public. They have shown their work in over 40 countries and across 5 continents. www.actionhero.org.uk

Created by Gemma Paintin, James Stenhouse, Mia Rushton and Eric Moschopedis.

Co-presented by Renfrewshire Leisure and Paisley Arts Centre. Funded by Future Paisley.
Originally supported by British Council, Farnham Maltings, the High Commission of Canada in the UK via the New Conversations Fund, and Arts Council England.