Douglas Fishbone (US/UK)
Towards a Common Understanding, 2005
12:30
“A narrative filled with bizarre anecdotes and filthy jokes, homespun proverbs and strange social analysis, Towards a Common Understanding investigates the culture of media saturation which confronts the contemporary attention span at every turn.
Using photo imagery downloaded straight off the internet and feeding it back to the viewer with a dispassionate narrator's commentary, the piece uses a slide show format with virtually no moving images at all, blending a number of disparate worlds in an oddly compelling way – the off-color stand-up comedy routine, the corporate Powerpoint presentation, the family vacation slide show, the ramblings of a madman, the dreaded school lecture. The narrator wallows in the grey area of copyright violation, recontextualizing stolen images to reflect some of the many failures of modern consumer capitalism – greed, perversity, violence, ignorance, obscenity, and above all, indifference. Not to mention obesity.
Is the way we impose patterns and structures onto the universe rooted in anything solid, or merely a random contrivance? Did the caveman know the correct name for those big hairy animals running around? Or should the correct name be in Latin? And is there any way, ultimately, for different cultures to understand each other in a deep and enduring way, is the striving towards a common understanding merely the doomed activity of fools?
It depends on who you ask, I suppose.”
[Douglas Fishbone]
Biography
Doug Fishbone is an American artist living and working in London. He earned an MA in Fine Art degree at Goldsmiths College in 2003 and was awarded the Beck’s Futures Prize for Student Film and Video in 2004. He is perhaps best known for his project 30,000 Bananas – a huge mountain of ripe bananas installed in the middle of London’s Trafalgar Square and later given away free to the audience - in October 2004. Fishbone’s video and performance work was included in the last year’s British Art Show 6, a national touring exhibition held every five years to feature the best in contemporary British art. He had his first major solo project at Gimpel Fils in London in October of 2006, and performed at London’s Hayward Gallery in February of 2007. Upcoming projects include a live performance at the ICA in London in July of 2007, as well as group exhibitions in Switzerland, Japan, and Korea. He was recently voted one of the Future Greats of the art world in the annual survey of Art Review magazine. Fishbone was born in New York City in 1969.
Solo exhibitions
March – April 07, Locust Projects, Miami, FL, USA Solo in Project Space
Feb – March 07, OEen Group, Copenhagen, Denmark, Solo Project
Oct-Nov 2006, Gimpel Fils, London, UK, Project Space, Solo Project
May-June 2006, Freight &Volume Gallery, New York, USA, Project Space
May 2006, Joe’s Pub, NY Public Theater, NY, USA, Live Performance
Oct – Nov 2005, Beacon Project, Lincolnshire, UK, Live Performance Series
October 2004, Trafalgar Square, 30,000 Bananas, London, UK
October 2002, d.u.m.b.o. Art Under the Bridge Festival, Brooklyn, NY
May 2001, Festival Interakcje 2001, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Poland
November 2000, National Gallery, San Jose, Costa Rica
May 2000, Galeria Madeleine Hollaender, Guayaquil, Ecuador
August 1999, Banco Central, Cuenca, Ecuador
March - April 99, Alliance Francaise, Quito, Ecuador
July 1998, Casa de la Cultura, Cuenca, Ecuador
February 1998, Brainard Gallery, New York, NY
Upcoming
March 2008, Kumho Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
Oct – Nov 2007, Space Kobo/Tomo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
June – July 07, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, UK, Vision Space, Solo Project
TBD 2007, Freight &Volume Gallery, New York, USA, Solo
June – Aug 07, Stadtgalerie Bern/Loge, Bern, Switzerland, “Unknown Pleasures”
Group exhibitions
February 2007, Hayward Gallery, London, UK, “100 Ideas”, Live Performance
Jan-March 2007, Freud Museum, London, UK, “Paranoia”
Jan-Feb 2007, Fieldgate Gallery, London, UK, “Latitude”
Jan 2007, Associates Gallery, London, UK, “The Hut Project”
Dec-Jan 06/07, Heidelberger Kunstverein, Heidelberg, Germany, “100 Days”
Dec-Jan 06/07, Flowers Central, London, UK, “Small is Beautiful”
Nov – Dec 2006, Highbury Studios, London, UK, “Saudade”
Nov – Dec 2006, Focal Point Gallery, Southend, UK “Paranoia” – Touring
Oct-Nov 2006, E:vent Gallery, London, UK, “Grounded”
Sep 05-06, British Art Show 6, UK, A Bond, Bristol and Travelling
September 06, Werkleitz Biennale, Halle, Germany, “Happy Believers”
August 2006, Nicolela’s Place, Sao Paulo, Brazil, “Marte e Aqui”
July – Aug 2006, Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds, UK, “Paranoia”, exhibition travels
June 2006, Mediaforum, Moscow International Film Festival, Moscow, Russia
June – July 06, The Great Unsigned, Chapman Arts, Lon, UK, “Right-on Write-off”
May – June 06, Moscow Center of Arts, Moscow, RU “The Territory of Freedom”
May – June 06, FRAC/PACA, Marseille, France, “Action”
April 06, Gastspiel Wien, Kunsterhaus Kino, Vienna, Austria, “Time Pop 2006”
March – April 06, Site Gallery, Sheffield, UK, “Animation Videotheque”
March 06, French Institute, Cine Lumiere, London, UK, “Interval(2)”
Feb – March 06, Platform Garanti Center, Istanbul, Turkey, “Sex and Sadness”
Feb – March 06, Liquidacion Total, Madrid, Spain, “Spain in Pain”
Jan 2006, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK, “Insomnia” Screening
Jan-Feb 2006, Witte de With, Rotterdam, Rott. Film Festival, Exploding Television
January 2006, Apartamento Privado, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Paris E Aqui
Nov - Dec 2005, Zero Gallery, Milan, Italy, “Jaybird”
November 2005, SGG, Geneva, Switzerland, 11th Biennial of Moving Images
November 2005, Kassel Documentary and Film Festival, Kassel, Germany
November 2005, Espai Ubu, Barcelona, Spain, “Video London” Off-Loop Festival
October 2005, Zoo Art Fair, London Zoo, London, UK
Sep – Oct 05, Man in the Holocene, Fortescue Ave, Lon, UK “You Only Live Twice”
Sep – Oct 05, Media Art Friesland Festival, Friesland, Netherlands, “Video Salon”
Sep 2005, Tank TV, London, UK, “Tourism”, On-line Exhibition
Sep 2005, DOM and Cinefantom, Moscow, Russia, “Pop Off the Top”
Sep – Oct 2005, Beacon Project, Ashby de le Launde Town Hall, Lincolnshire, UK
Jul-Sep 2005, Bregenzer Kunstverein, Bregenz, Austria, “Go-Between”
July-August 05, EAST International, Norwich SAD, Norwich, UK
July 2005, Clerkenwell Film and Video Festival, London, UK
July –Sep 2005, Centro Cultural Telemar, Rio, Brazil, “prog:me/Conspiracy”
June 2005, Process Space Festival, Balchik, Bulgaria
June 2005, Prince Charles Cinema, London, UK, “Time Pop”
May-July 2005, mullerdechiara, Berlin, Germany, Three-person exhibition
April 2005, SP Arte Art Fair, Bienal Pavilion, Sao Paulo, Brazil
April 2005, European Media Art Festival, Osnabrueck, Germany
March-May 2005, County Hall Gallery, London, UK, “Bloc” curated by Bowieart
February 2005, DIVA Art Fair, Embassy Suites Hotel, New York City, USA
March 2005, Kunstburo, Vienna, Austria, “Save the Day”
March 2005, ICA, London, UK, “Public Art: Reframing the Streets”
Feb 2005, Glashaus, Berlin, Germany, OFF POP Vision Festival
Jan-Feb 2005, Program, London, UK, Two-person Exhibition
Dec-Jan 2004/5, Happy Sailor Tattoo Parlor, London, UK, “Chaim Soutine”
December 2004, Sticthing Lazy Marie, Utrecht, Netherlands
November 2004, Crossing Border Festival, The Hague, Netherlands
November 2004, Off Loop, Barcelona, Spain
November 2004, House Gallery, London, UK, “Yesvember”
October 2004, Zoo Art Fair – London Zoo, London, UK
October 2004, Redux, London, UK, “Centrefold-So You’re Afraid of What?”
Sep 2004, P.I.T./Projects in Transit, Brooklyn, NY, “Sunset Beach”
Sep-Oct 2004, mullerdechiara, Berlin, Germ, “The Ludovico Treatment”
Sep-Oct 2004, ICA, London, UK, “copy-art.net”
Sep 2004, Kabaret’s Prophecy, London, UK, “Y-3 / Young 3”
Sep-Oct 2004, Man in the Holocene, London, “Trailer”
August 2004, Portobello Film Festival, London, UK, Bowieart Screening
August 2004, Man in the Holocene/Curzon Soho, London,“Trailer” Screening
July 2004, Goldsmiths College, London, UK, Postgraduate Degree Show
July 2004, Tower Bridge Business Complex, London, UK, “Cinderella”
July 2004, Lonfest Film Festival, London, UK
July 2004, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK, Open Screening
June–July 2004, Beck’s Futures Student Award Shortlist Exhibition, CCA, Glasgow
June 2004, Montevideo, Amsterdam, Netherlands, “50% Beeld”
June 2004, Camberwell Leisure Center, London, UK, “Ten Things About Me”
June 2004, Ritzy Cinema/Cafe, Brixton, London, UK, “The Plot Thickens”
June - July 2004, Arch Gallery, London, UK, “Sneeze”
June 2004, Cinematiek, Utrecht, Netherlands
May 2004, Prince Charles Cinema, London, UK, “Time Pop”
May 2004, Scope Art Fair, Los Angeles, USA, “Revival - Keeping Video Alive”
April 2004, Beck’s Futures Student Award Shortlist Exhibition, ICA, London
March 2004, Scope Art Fair, New York, USA, “Revival - Keeping Video Alive”
December 2003, Scope Art Fair, Miami, USA, “Revival – Keeping Video Alive”
Dec 03 – Jan 04, Century Gallery, London, UK, “Reduced”
December 2003, 36 Marshall Street, London, UK, “Splendid”
December 2003, Arch Gallery, London, UK, Holiday Show
December 2003, Deluxe Gallery, London, UK, Holiday Show
Oct – Nov 2003, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA, “Wight Biennial”
October 2003, 291 Gallery, London, UK, “F-ilm F-est”
July – August 03, Century Gallery, London, UK, “Headland”
July 2003, Scope Art Fair, Los Angeles, USA, “Revival – Keeping Video Alive”
July 2003, Spitalfields Market, London, UK, “Bootleg”
July 2003, Goldsmiths College, London, UK, MA Degree Show
June – July 03, Columbia University, New York, USA, “Art Against War”
May – June 03, Arch Gallery, London, UK, “Made in UK”
September 02, Untitled Space, New Haven, CT, “Proper Villains”
July 2002, Museum of New Art, Detroit, MI, “Ground Zero”
June 2001, Octagon, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
April – May 2001, Casa de la Cultura, Cuenca, Ecuador, “En la Palma de la Mano”
March – April 01, Theater for the New City, New York, NY, “Counting Coup”
Jan – Feb 2001, Scott Pfaffman Gallery, New York, NY, “Undo”
Awards and honors received
2005, Arena Magazine X Club Award, London, UK
2004, * Becks’ Futures Student Film and Video Award, FIRST PRIZE
2001 and 2002, Hattie M. Strong Foundation Grants, Washington, DC
March 99, USIS Fund for Artists Grant, US Embassy, Quito, Ecuador
Artist talks/guest teaching
November 2006, Slade School of Art, UCL, London, UK
July and Nov 06, Creative Partnerships/Slough, UK
April 2006, Nottingham Trent University, UK, British Art Show Symposium
March 2006, Whitworth Gallery, Manchester, UK British Art Show Symposium
February 2006, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK
November 2005, York College, York, UK
November 2005, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
October 2005, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, UK
Aug 2005, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Art & Money Panel Disc.
April 2005, ICA, London, UK, Becks’ Futures Student Film/Video Prize Conference
February 2005, Reading University, Reading, UK
December 2004, Tate Modern, London, UK, “Art and Food”, Raw Canvas Program
Artist-in-residency programs
March – June 98, Fundacion Paul Rivet, Cuenca, Ecuador