Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press: Pranayama Typhoon
Patronato Salesiano Leone XIII, Venice, 2022
Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press presents Pranayama Typhoon, an exhibition grounded by her video Pranayama Organ (2021), a pas de deux of two inflatable fighter jets performed along the coast of the English Channel. Projected on a seven by four metre screen housed within the deconsecrated church-cum-basketball court of Patronato Salesiano Leone XIII, Banner’s film is fittingly accompanied by a church organ score inspired by David Bowie’s Wild is the Wind. Three large soft sculptures—bespoke bean bags that resemble components of the duelling protagonists—serve as seating for the audience. The film is complemented by a composition on a found seascape painting, another video work representing an ISBN number on a hymn board, and two large banners hanging on the exterior façade of space. Banner's exhibition coincides with the 59th Venice Art Biennale.
D.H.office worked closely with the artist and her galleries as project manager for the exhibition. Our responsibilities included identifying the location and liaising with the Patronato Salesiano, providing all suppliers to produce and install the exhibition, managing daily operations of the space and organising documentation of the project. We also secured all appropriate permitting for the exhibition, including for the exterior banners.
Further Reading
Pranayama Typhoon
Frith Street Gallery
Galerie Barbara Thumm