YBA and Turner Prize nominee Fiona Banner is a palpable force on the British art scene. Starting off her career in the starry gang of Goldsmiths' artists, including the likes of Sam Taylor-Wood, Jake and Dinos Chapman and Tacita Dean, Banner graduated to the halls of the Tate Britain in 2010 with her installation of RAF fighter jets in the Duveen Galleries.
Fiona Banner work & text
Banner is best known for her experiments with text and first sparked attention with her 'wordscapes', which recounted the plots of feature films as enormous textual works. From Apocalypse now to Full Metal Jacket, in 1997 Banner published 1,000 pages of continuous text describing several Vietnam war movies. Into the 1990s it was all about punctuation for Banner, as full stops became curious minimalist sculptures.
Fiona Banner exhibition | Frith Street Gallery
For her new show at Frith Street, Banner has devised a brand new font, a weird crossbreed between Courier, Helvetica, Bookman and a stream of others. She first had the idea for the project while preparing for her major survey exhibition at Ikon, Birmingham. There's even a curious sign in 19th century baptismal font at the entrance to the gallery that reads, 'font'.
Don't miss the two new Banner films on display, the first of which shows a drone camera focusing upon a reprinted glossy version of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness alongside images of London by Magnum conflict photographer Paolo Pellegrin. A second video shows two windsocks fluttering in the wind. There are also drawings to admire Banner's draughtsmanship, which reference the military form of folk art, 'Nose Art'.
A complex and rich exhibition that will beguile YBA enthusiasts and contemporary art lovers. You can even download Banner's unique Font from 17th September!
Fiona Banner work & text
Banner is best known for her experiments with text and first sparked attention with her 'wordscapes', which recounted the plots of feature films as enormous textual works. From Apocalypse now to Full Metal Jacket, in 1997 Banner published 1,000 pages of continuous text describing several Vietnam war movies. Into the 1990s it was all about punctuation for Banner, as full stops became curious minimalist sculptures.
Fiona Banner exhibition | Frith Street Gallery
For her new show at Frith Street, Banner has devised a brand new font, a weird crossbreed between Courier, Helvetica, Bookman and a stream of others. She first had the idea for the project while preparing for her major survey exhibition at Ikon, Birmingham. There's even a curious sign in 19th century baptismal font at the entrance to the gallery that reads, 'font'.
Don't miss the two new Banner films on display, the first of which shows a drone camera focusing upon a reprinted glossy version of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness alongside images of London by Magnum conflict photographer Paolo Pellegrin. A second video shows two windsocks fluttering in the wind. There are also drawings to admire Banner's draughtsmanship, which reference the military form of folk art, 'Nose Art'.
A complex and rich exhibition that will beguile YBA enthusiasts and contemporary art lovers. You can even download Banner's unique Font from 17th September!
What | Fiona Banner: FONT, Frith Street Gallery |
Where | Frith Street Gallery, Soho Square, 60 Frith Street, London, W1D 3JJ | MAP |
Nearest tube | Tottenham Court Road (underground) |
When |
18 Sep 15 – 31 Oct 15, Wednesday to Friday 10am—6pm | Saturday 11am—5pm |
Price | £Free |
Website | Click here for more details |