J U S T I N E S M I T HT H E WAY O F T H E G U N

JUSTINE SMITHT H E WAY O F T H E G U N

2 6 O c t o b e r - 1 8 N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 1

WATERHOUSE & DODD

26 Cork Street London W1S 3ND

+44 (0)20 7734 7800

cork@waterhousedodd.com

www.waterhousedodd.com

All works may be viewed online at www.waterhousedodd.comand are available for purchase on receipt of this catalogue

The Instruments of State weapons sculptures are an ongoing series of works about the illusion ofpower. They appear to be solid objects, but are actually completely hollow, constructed from justtwo layers of banknotes. The fact that they can be crushed in the palm of a hand questions thenature of power and suggests it may be more delicate and transient than at first appears, a factillustrated by recent events in the Middle East. The Crowd Control series of collages underline thistheory and also show the varied consequences of political opposition. The imagery used is a code,where the eyes are the eyes of the state, and the hands represent protest and the power of thepeople and the flowers are for the dead and disappeared.

Enduring Loss and The Price are both statements on the ultimate consequences of war on anindividual - death. Enduring Loss is intended as a stark reminder of this fact and marks theanniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom. The wreath is madefrom paper poppies sold by the Royal British Legion to raise funds to support members of theBritish Armed Forces. In the sculpture some of the original poppy paper has been replaced byAfghan banknotes. The number of poppies that make up the wreath corresponds to the number ofUK troop deaths since the start of the invasion. Any further deaths will mean the addition of morepoppies until it is completed on 7th October 2011, the 10th anniversary of the War. All profits fromthe sale of the wreath are being donated to the Poppy Appeal. The Price is a protest for Peace: allthe poppies have been replaced by international banknotes and have been incorporated into afloral funeral tribute spelling the word ‘Son’ emphasising the universal human cost of conflict at itsmost fundamental level.

Justine SmithSeptember 2011

Foreword

In my artistic practice I have been working with money since 1998 and it only seems to becomemore relevant. The power invested in these pieces of paper is immense, and for me, it is likeworking with an elemental force which impacts upon us in a political, social and moral level. Abanknote can be seen as a little piece of propaganda, a cipher portraying specific aspects of a givenstate. In my work I appropriate these images and re-contextualize them to my own ends. Money asa conduit of political power is a central theme and the work in this show explores the convergenceof greed, corruption, conflict, the thirst for power and its consequences in a world of shifting newrealities.

The Way of the Gun and the Death Star series elaborate on the themes of oppression and the abuseof power. A series of kaleidoscopic collages, intended to evoke a quasi - religious appearance ofstained glass, a mandala or Islamic design, in fact reveal themselves to be formed of motifs of guns,bullets, grenades and military aircraft. The bank notes used in these pieces come from failed states,conflict zones, dictatorships, and oppressive regimes. The golden guns and bullets used in thecollages are gilded with 23.5 carat gold leaf: the gold a pure form of currency as well as a source ofconflict in itself. Underlying these works is a sense of illusion and ambiguity; the ordered andharmonious patterns juxtapose with violence and destruction being represented. These ideas areexpanded in Sweat of the Sun, a work incorporating the same ornate patterns, but rendered just ingold leaf. The title refers to the Inca name for gold, the Sun being the most sacred of all deities, thesource of all power.

The wielding of power by the state is explored in The Judge, Instruments of State sculptures and alsoin Crowd Control. The Judge expresses the idea of the US in its self - appointed role as the ‘world’spoliceman’ intervening in affairs of sovereign states and the impact of it’s foreign policies.

1The Judge

US Dollars & perspex case 8.75 x 5 x 1.5 in / 22.5 x 13 x 4 cm

2The Way of the Gun II

International bank notes, gold & acrylic on gesso panel 39.5 x 39.5 in / 100 x 100 cmBank notes: Afghan, Chinese, Euro, Libyan, Israeli, Iranian, Pakistani, Sudanese, Myanmar, Uzbek & Zimbabwean

3The Way of the Gun III

International bank notes, gold & acrylic on gesso panel 39.5 x 39.5 in / 100 x 100 cmBank notes: Guinean, Bahraini, Myanmar, Iranian, Pakistani, Syrian, North Korean, Iraqi & Zimbabwean

4Sweat of the Sun

23 carat gold & acrylic on paper 40.5 x 40.5 in / 102.5 x 102.5 cm

5Instruments of State - Myanmar

Myanmar Kyats & perspex case 5.25 x 8 x 1 in / 13.5 x 20.5 x 3 cm

6Death Star Astra Peony Nebula

International bank notes, gold & acrylic on gesso panel 29.5 x 29.5 in / 75 x 75 cmBank notes: Bahraini, Belarussian, Congolese, Pakistani, Somali & Turkmenian

7Death Star Green Anaconda Night Hawk

International bank notes, gold & acrylic on gesso panel 29.5 x 29.5 in / 75 x 75 cmBank notes: Eritrean, Guinean, Iranian, Israeli, Libyan, Somali, Syrian, Iraqi & Uzbek

8Death Star Blue Bell x-2 Sky Hawk

International bank notes, gold & acrylic on gesso panel 29.5 x 29.5 in / 75 x 75 cmBank notes: Afghan, Iraqi, Pakistani, Sudanese, Yemeni, Syrian, Turkmenian & Zimbabwean

9Death Star Remington Purple Mao

International bank notes, gold & acrylic on gesso panel 29.5 x 29.5 in / 75 x 75 cmBank notes: Afghan, Chinese, Libyan, Myanmar, North Korean, Pakistani, Somalia & Sudanese

10Enduring Loss

Afghan Afghanis & mixed media 31.25 x 31.25 x 4 in / 79.5 x 79.5 x 10 cm

All profits from the sale of this artwork will be donated to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

11The Price

International banknotes & mixed media 10.25 x 33 x 13.5 in / 26 x 84 x 34 cm

12Crowd Control - Libya

Libyan Dinar, metal leaf & collage on paper 13.5 x 11 in / 34 x 27.5 cm

13Crowd Control - Afghanistan

Afghan Afghanis, metal leaf & collage on paper 13.5 x 11 in / 34 x 27.5 cm

14Crowd Control - North Korea

North Korean Won, metal leaf & collage on paper 13.5 x 11 in / 34 x 27.5 cm

15Instruments of State - China

Chinese Yuan & perspex case 4.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 in / 11 x 6.5 x 6.5 cm

16Crowd Control - Syria

Syrian Pounds, metal leaf & collage on paper 13.5 x 11 in / 34 x 27.5 cm

17Crowd Control - China

Chinese Yuan, metal leaf & collage on paper 13.5 x 11 in / 34 x 27.5 cm

18Crowd Control - Iran

Iranian Rials, metal leaf & collage on paper 13.5 x 11 in / 34 x 27.5 cm

19Time is Money

Inkjet with pearlised screen printing on 330 gsm Somerset enhanced paper Edition of 8 43 x 63 in / 109 x 160 cm

Please note, the image opposite is an unpearlised proof

JUSTINE SMITHEnglish Born 1971

Solo Exhibitions:

2011 The Way of the Gun, Waterhouse & Dodd, LondonRise and Fall: Waterhouse and Dodd, New York

2010 Rise and Fall: Illusions and Delusions, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, MiamiA Bigger Bang, Chelsea Arts Club, London

2007 Empires of the Sum, The Air Gallery, London 2005 Purchasing Power, Ryder Street Gallery, London2002 New Work, Charlotte Street Gallery, London

New Work, The Chapel Gallery, Plympton, Devon

2000 The Children of Dog, Charlotte Street Gallery, London

Selected Group Exhibitions:

2012 The First Cut, Manchester City GalleryThe Art of Money, Pataka Museum, PoriruaNew Zealand

2011 Art + Money - The Haupt CollectionHalle Am Wasser, BerlinArt, Money and Dangerous Liaisons, Monnaie de paris, FranceBite, The Mall Galleries, London (invited artist)Buds, Blooms and Berries: Plants in Science, Art and Culture, Everhart Museum, Scranton, PA, USAScope Basel Art Fair, Waterhouse & DoddThe London Original Print Fair, Tag Fine Arts, AAF New York, Tag Fine Arts

2010 Inaugral Exhibition, Metropolis Art, BournemouthThe London Art Fair, CCA Galleries20/21 International Art Fair, John Iddon Fine Art, London

2009 Cut & Fold - The Art of Paper, New Brewery Arts, CirencesterArt London, John Iddon Fine Art, LondonScope Miami, Opus Art GalleryCash Flow, White Trash Contemporary, Hamburg

2009 Bridge Art Fair, Opus Gallery, New York20/21 British Art Fair, John Iddon, LondonCoriander Studio Prints, Innocent Fine Art, Bristol

2008 Kounter Kulture, Truman Brewery, LondonIt’s The Money, Stupid, Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Santa MonicaCoriander Studio Prints, Jill George Gallery, LondonScope Art Fair, Light Contemporary, LondonArt London, John Iddon, London20/21 British Art Fair, John Iddon, LondonWhitespace Gallery, Totnes, Devon

2007 Wunderkammer, Bluecoat Display Centre, LiverpoolArt for Life, Christies, LondonArt London, John Iddon, London20/21 British Art Fair, John Iddon, LondonForm, John Iddon, LondonLondon Art Fair, CCA Galleries, LondonGuitartown, 02 Centre, LondonCoriander Studio Prints, Jill George Gallery, London

2006 Artists of Mass Distraction, Opus Gallery, NewcastleMaster Printmakers, Royal Automobile Club, LondonEyestorm Gallery, LondonArt for Life, Christies, LondonScope Art Fair, Light Contemporary, LondonArt London, John Iddon, London

2005 Art Palm Beach, Russeck Gallery, USAArt Miami, Russeck Gallery, USAThe ART Show, Menier Chocolate Factory, London

2004 The London Art Fair, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, LondonArt Miami, Rebecca Hossack Gallery

2003 Mystery Postcards for Macmillan Cancer, Tate Britain, London

2003 Toronto Art Fair, Rebecca Hossack Gallery20/21 British Art Fair, Rebecca Hossack GalleryArt London, Rebecca Hossack GalleryArt Miami, Rebecca Hossack GalleryArt Palm Beach, Rebecca Hossack GalleryArt 2003, Rebecca Hossack Gallery

2002 British Art Fair, Rebecca Hossack GalleryArt London, Rebecca Hossack GalleryArt 2002, Rebecca Hossack Gallery

2000 Transformations, Pitt Rivers Museum, OxfordThe Flower Show, Rebecca Hossack GalleryHoly Cow- The Second Coming, Clapham Art Gallery, London

1999 Reclaimed (British Council exhibition, touring internationally until 2003), Townhouse Gallery,CairoHoly Cow, Clapham Art Gallery, LondonHumans Being, New Ashgate Gallery, FarnhamBrewery Arts Centre, Cirencester

Residencies:

June 2009 South Florida Arts Center

Selected Commissions:

The Portland CollectionThe Conran ShopDe La Rue Currency InternationalCrosby Street Hotel, New YorkPaul SmithTullett Prebon

Collections:

The Government Art CollectionThe British CouncilBanque Internationale A LuxembourgSir Peter BlakeJohn RochaPrestbury Investment HoldingsCharles Russell LLPDuet Asset ManagementApollo ManagementCASE EuropeRuffer LLPSidley Austin UK LLPAgnes BEd O’Brien (Radiohead)Nick Mason (Pink Floyd)The Manic Street PreachersOne Aldwych Hotel, LondonChristiane AmanpourThe Pigozzi CollectionA.A. GillThe Haupt Collection

Catalogue written and published by Waterhouse & DoddPrinted by ArtQuarters Press

Photography by Prudence Cumings AssociatesAll images copyright of the artist

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