Press Release: Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, DISARM
CIRCA PRESENTS FIONA BANNER’S NEW COMMISSION
AT A TIME OF ESCALATING GLOBAL CONFLICT
Download the media pack, here.
(Piccadilly Circus, London) 12 July 2024 ➳ In a timely commission by British artist Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, for Season III of CIRCA 20:24, DISARM manifests a procession of military jets that spell out an impossible desire.
Capturing the contradictory phenomena of military flypasts – “a raw moment of extreme weather,” DISARM transforms a jingoistic display of military might into a call for global disarmament. As jets emerge from an immense sky to spell out the word “DISARM”, international audiences are confronted by a fleeting moment where our language meets its limits. “The aircraft in the flypast are named after forces of nature, Typhoon, Leopard and Lightning… so it speaks of our assault on the planet as well as each other.” At a moment of heightened tension, with more global conflict now than at any time since World War II, the precarity and contradictions in defence and aggression are writ large. “This is language in action.”
The flypast continues Banner’s exploration of language to confront and exist beyond the predictable or clichéd. In DISARM, language is physical, subversive and perversely demonstrative. “In and of itself, a fighter plane is, to me, the opposite of language,” says Banner. “A complete breakdown – a physical regression into conflict. But the planes in the film are also performing language. At the same time, it’s a bit anti-language. How can you purposefully realise a statement which is supposedly naive, or grandiose even, but also essential … The jets are from conflicting global military powers. In spelling disarm, they perform a word, or a call to action in unison, which simultaneously calls for their emasculation and signals their demise.”
As language is increasingly under scrutiny, with artists facing censorship and restrictions, DISARM serves as a call to reflect on disarmament in all spheres of life: collective and individual, public and private, industrial and intellectual. Banner’s work underscores the power of words to provoke thought and inspire change. Recent world events have highlighted the fragility of these freedoms, with DISARM serving as a reminder of our need to express dissent and advocate for humanity.
On 11 June 2024, a report from the Global Peace Index highlighted the 56 wars and armed conflicts taking place across the globe, involving 92 countries – the most nations that have been in conflict since World War II. Peace monitors have warned that, across the planet, nations are rapidly increasing government spending to boost military strength, which risks igniting volatile geopolitical tensions. Globally, $2,440 billion (£1,970 billion) was spent last year on wars and military arms – more than fifty times the amount spent on humanitarian aid and eclipsing government spending on climate change.
Launching Tuesday, 16 July 2024 at 7pm on Piccadilly Lights, Banner’s new work will be the third of four major commissions for CIRCA 20:24, responding to the year’s manifesto, <<BREAK FREE>> TIME’S ARROW FLIES FOREVER FORWARD’. Appearing every evening at 20:24 BST on London’s iconic Piccadilly Lights and broadcasting (local time) across screens in Milan, Seoul, Berlin and Tokyo, Season III is enhanced by the UK-wide deployment of fly posters in partnership with Global Street Advertising Agency, UNCLE. Adding to the spectacle in London, DISARM is accompanied for the first time by a soundscape permeating from a large speaker in Piccadilly Circus, with its screening time increasing to 4.5 mins.
‘Amid the widespread weaponisation permeating political and social relationships, humanity finds itself gazing at the sky in search of a constellation, sign or invitation to break free from the current ever-deploying cycle of violence.’ said CIRCA Founder and Artistic Director, Josef O’Connor. “This necessary work by Banner demonstrates an artist exercising their willingness to raise an arm and invite us all to dream of the impossible.”
Continuing an exploration of the weaponisation of language, CIRCA releases ‘The Bastard Words’, a series of 26 hand-signed lithograph prints based on Fiona Banner’s seminal work, The Bastard Word Studies (2006-7). Featuring 26 large (A3) prints created from the original graphite on paper drawings of aircraft fragments twisted and shaped into Latin alphabet (A-Z) letters, Banner invites people to spell out bastard words using a custom-built word generator on the CIRCA shop. Available to purchase on CIRCA.ART for £150+VAT (individual.) or £3,000+VAT for the complete set of 26.
NOTES TO EDITORS
CIRCA 20:24 – SEASON III PROGRAMME
Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press
16 July until 31 August 2024
20:24 BST ➳ London, Piccadilly Lights
20:24 CET ➳ Berlin, Limes, Kurfürstendamm
20:24 CET ➳ Milan, EssilorLuxottica, Cadorna Square
20:24 KST ➳ Seoul, COEX K-Pop Square
29 July – 4 August ➳ Tokyo, NeoShibuya, Shibuya Crossing
To view the exhibition map, click here
ABOUT FIONA BANNER AKA THE VANITY PRESS
Fiona Banner (born 1966), also known as The Vanity Press is a British artist. Her work explores gender, language, interpretation and publishing through various mediums, including drawing, sculpture, performance and the moving image. Repurposing of military aircraft is another key element in her work. She often transforms these imposing machines to brutal, sensual and comedic ends, using parts of military aircraft in her installations or granting them a kind of living presence.
ABOUT CIRCA
CIRCA is a forward-thinking platform that showcases innovative and impactful contemporary art. Through collaborations with leading artists and cultural institutions, CIRCA presents meaningful culture in public spaces that reflect our living times (CIRCA 20:20, 21, 22, 23, 24..) and sparks dialogue, making art accessible and relevant to a global audience. Funds generated from artist editions enable the #CIRCAECONOMY – a circular model that supports the CIRCA free public art programme while creating life-changing opportunities for a global creative community. Since launching in October 2020 on London’s Piccadilly Lights, CIRCA has distributed over £1,000,000 in cash grants, scholarships, donations and commissions.
Previous CIRCA-commissioned artists include Ai Weiwei, Cauleen Smith, Eddie Peake, Anne Imhof, Patti Smith, Tony Cokes, Vivienne Westwood, Yoko Ono, Marina Abramović, David Hockney, Cassandra Press, Shirin Neshat, Frank Bowling, Kembra Pfahler, Fiona Banner, and more. (circa.art)
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