Decoration. Peter Kennard has been recognised by Art in America as 'one of the very few artists- the only one it might be said- who has had a direct effect on recent British politics'. This exhibition Decoration, his sixth at Gimpel Fils, consists of a series of large paintings and prints meditating on the current war in Iraq. Each image contains a force reflecting the strength of the international anti-war movement in which Kennard has played a prominent part.
Decoration
"To talk about the price of the Iraq war strictly in terms of military
casualties and US tax dollars is an obscenity. Yes, Americans and British
citizens were lied to by their politicians. Yes, they are owed answers. But
the people of Iraq are owed a great deal more, and that enormous debt
belongs at the very centre of any civilised debate about the war."
Naomi Klein, The Guardian, 20/2/04
Peter Kennard has been recognised by Art in America as "one of the very few
artists- the only one it might be said- who has had a direct effect on
recent British politics". This exhibition Decoration, his sixth at Gimpel
Fils, consists of a series of large paintings and prints meditating on the
current war in Iraq. Each image contains a force reflecting the strength of
the international anti-war movement in which Kennard has played a prominent
part. Believing that the Hutton Enquiry in the UK, and an overarching
concern for national self esteem in the US, has diverted attention away from
the real ramifications of military action in Iraq, Kennard wishes to realign
our attention to what really matters. Since entering Iraq, the western
authorities have refused to keep count of the number of Iraqis killed. This
task has been left to an independent group of academics, who in February
estimated a minimum of 10,000 civilian deaths.
For Decoration Kennard has combined the use of digital printing techniques
with oil paint to make images that break up and are torn apart in front of
our eyes. Decoration juxtaposes notions of military commemoration with the
real victims of the war. The images themselves are of war medals, but of
course, they are twisted and contrary to the notion of the medal as a
military commemoration. Expanding on a visual metaphor first seen in the
late 1980s, Kennard's medals are distortions. In place of the shiny metal
medallion is a face, bandaged, battered. These faces truly are innocent
victims, the men, women and children caught in the (friendly) crossfire.
Other medallions become military targets, helmets or explosions of sand and
dust.
Made from pieces of either the US star spangled banner, or the Union Jack,
the ribbons used to keep the medals in place are frayed, tattered, burnt,
ripped, covered in dust of war. The US flag, Kennard notes, is a
democratically designed flag and is seen as the embodiment of the nation.
In these images the nation is literally tied to the pain and suffering it
has caused. In the US, the defecation of 'Old Glory' is taken as evidence
of criminal or terrorist intent. Kennard wonders what happens when that
flag, a symbol of American democracy and equality, comes to stand for
undemocratic military aggression. These images act as a sign that amidst
the declarations of fighting a just war, the victims have yet to receive
justice.
Kennard's work is represented in various collections including the Arts
Council Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Saatchi Collection.
His most recent publication "Dispatches from an Unofficial War Artist"
published by Lund Humphries is available from the gallery.
private view: Thursday 15 July, 6-8pm
A catalogue with an essay by John Berger accompanies this exhibition.
Image:
face 17 2002
22 x 18 in / 55.8 x 45.7 cm
For further details please contact Cece Faville.
tel: +44 (0)20 7493 2488, fax: +44 (0)20 7629 5732,
Gallery hours: Mon - Fri 10am - 5.30pm & Sat 11am
- 4pm
Closed Saturdays during August
Gimpel Fils
30 Davies Street London W1K 4NB UK