Good radio, like good art, doesn’t require determination on the part of the audience to stop and concentrate: it demands attention. Garrett Phelan’s Black Brain Radio sets out to break rules, presenting listeners to 89.9FM with a droning monologue in which he meanders and loses focus as he talks through disjointed concepts, from religion to current affairs. Driven by an interest in how we process information, Phelan’s radio-art broadcasts have the aura of a late-night debate, exuding a sheen of apparent profundity while remaining frustratingly incoherent. It is an oddly compelling feat of endurance for both the artist and the listener. Phelan can be heard scribbling as he talks: 30 pages of plans, one for each day of the broadcasts, are on show at Temple Bar gallery, and his graffiti-style visuals accompany an Irish Museum of Modern Art installation.
89.9FM (Dublin only) until February 17; Temple Bar gallery, Tue-Sat 11am-6pm (Thu 11am-7pm), free (01 671 0073)