September 17, 2022–January 29, 2023
Exhibition talk: October 20, 7–9pm, with Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, Tom McCarthy & Dr. Inke Arns
The phrase “Pranayama,” an archaic breathing practice, is combined with the word “Typhoon,” a powerful and more common natural occurrence and the name of a cutting-edge fighter plane. The video Pranayama Organ (2021) by British artist Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press (b. 1966), which comprises two full-scale inflatable military dummy aircraft, a Typhoon and a Falcon, is one among the pieces featured in this solo exhibition. The majestic sound of a church organ can be heard as the two aircraft take off in the early morning. Visitors are encouraged to remain while life-size beanbag airplane parts (Soft Parts: Wing, Flap, Fin, 2022) progressively inflate with air before collapsing once more.
London, England is where Fiona Banner, alias The Vanity Press, resides and works. Through a variety of forms, including drawing, sculpture, performance, and the moving picture, her work examines gender, language, and publishing. The conflict between language’s potential and its constraints is at the heart of Banner’s art. The Vanity Press is a name that Banner frequently uses. With the publication of her landmark book The Nam in 1997, she founded the imprint. Since then, she has released numerous pieces, some of which are books, others sculptures, and still others are performance-based. She registered herself as a publication in 2009, giving herself an ISBN number and using her own name.
HMKV Hartware MedienKunstVerein
at the Dortmunder U, Level 3
Leonie-Reygers-Terrasse
44137 Dortmund
Germany
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Thursday–Friday 11am–8pm
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