Martin Firrell
British, born Paris France. 1963
Martin Firrell is a Franco-British public artist long associated with leading Out of Home media company Clear Channel. His works challenge unjust power systems of all kinds,
including patriarchal power, the oppression of women and non-heterosexuals, and the heteronormative status quo. He uses language to engage
directly with the public, provoking dialogue about more equitable social organisation. The
artist's reported aim is 'to make the world more humane'. His work has been summarised
as 'art as debate'.
Curated by
Wikidata
Q6775431
4 Tenets for Europe
Prize the beauty of justice above all else
Madrid, Spain
Medium
Digital billboards
Displayed
Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK
4 Tenets for Europe
is the ambitious new public artwork commissioned by Clear Channel Europe from internationally acclaimed public artist Martin Firrell ('The Conscience of the 21st Century' - International New York Times
).
4 Tenets for Europe
Riga, Latvia
4 Tenets for Europe
appears on billboards simultaneously across 11 European nations in 9 languages on 15th September 2023, the United Nations International Day of Democracy.
4 Tenets for Europe
Utrecht, Netherlands
The first tenet is
Prize the Beauty of Justice Above All Else
. Justice is perhaps the one and only unerringly beautiful aspect of human experience. It is both the root and the fruit of democracy.
4 Tenets for Europe
Warsaw, Poland
4 Tenets
marks 25 years of the artist’s creative association with Clear Channel as well as the artist’s 60th birthday. ‘As that particular milestone approached, I asked myself, what do I really believe to be unalterably valuable and true about life? I came up with just four things - hence the 4 Tenets’ - Martin Firrell.
4 Tenets for Europe
Dublin, Eire
The second tenet is
Look at Life Squarely and Forgive It for What It Is
. This is a paraphrasing of the great modernist novelist Virginia Woolf (1882-1941). Life is something to be lived up to, seen for what it is without illusions, and forgiven for all its faults. Forgiveness fosters kindness to ourselves and to others.
4 Tenets for Europe
Copenhagen, Denmark
The third tenet is
Disobey Any Cruel or Unjust Rule
. Disobedience - especially mass civil disobedience - can provide vital protections for any society subject to inept or wicked government and/or unethical law-making.
4 Tenets for Europe
Aix-en-Provence, France
The fourth tenet is
Be Kind to Trees
. Trees are how we breathe! The fourth tenet echoes the final words of the great French satirical novel Candide
: 'Cela est bien dit,' répondit Candide, 'mais il faut cultiver notre jardin.’ (‘That's all very well,’ answered Candide, ‘but we must look after our garden.’)
4 Tenets for Europe
Oslo, Norway
'4 Tenets for Europe
demonstrates the power of Out of Home as a medium that can present engaging and timely public art messages at scale, in this instance marking 25 years of public art with Martin Firrell and celebrating the UN Day of Democracy across Europe.’ - Martin Corke, Clear Channel European Marketing Lead.
4 Tenets for Europe
Helsinki, Finland
‘I like to think of
4 Tenets for Europe
as a birthday present to myself - a recipe for a happier, kinder and better-cared-for world.’ - Martin Firrell Public Artist.
The Question Mark Inside
2008
Medium
Projection
Displayed
St Paul's Cathedral, November 2008
The Question Mark Inside
asked theologians, scientists, artists, atheists,
and the general public, 'What makes your life meaningful?' Wildly diverse answers,
from the domestic to the sexual to the sublime, were projected onto the Dome, West Front and Whispering
Gallery to mark the cathedral's 300th anniversary.
sun not despair (schematic)
2008
sun (in arabic)
2008
what makes life meaningful
2008
I Don't Think This Is What God Intended
2008
The Taking of Christ (Carravagio)
c.1602
A kiss
2008
Organised Religion Makes Me Uneasy
2008
A Nail
2008
The road to freedom (after Willa Cather)
2008
Design for st Paul's shop paper bags
2008
Life reaches out to life (arabic)
2008
Artist's maquette for test projections
2008
What Oppresses Us
2022
Medium
Digital & Paper billboards
Displayed
UK, July-August 2022
The Gallery is a new kind of cultural institution, serving the four nations of the UK. It has no walls to hold the artworks in, or to keep anyone out. The Gallery's first season invited 10 artists to respond to the words 'Straight White Male'.
What Oppresses Us
quotes French feminist theory of the 1970s, suggesting the oppressor controls all aspects of the oppressed's psyche including what is considered erotic or desirable. More
5 Decades of Pride
2022
Medium
Digital billboards
Displayed
UK, July 2022
5 Decades of Pride
is a series of five public artworks created to mark UK Pride’s 50th anniversary on 1 July 2022. The artist invited LGBT+ networks and their allies to contribute what they felt were the most important issues facing the LGBT+ community in the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s and the 2010s.
The 1970s
2022
The 1980s
2022
The 1990s
2022
The 2000s
2022
The 2010s
2022
Dada 105
2022
Medium
Digital billboards
Displayed
Basel and Zurich, Switzerland June 2022
Dada 105
marks 105 years since the publication of the first Dada Review in Zurich. The artworks magnify flaws like tears, uneven inking and foxing in the original Dada pamphlets. The texts re-state aspects of Dada philosophy for our times now that the calamity of war has returned to Europe.
Cancel Nationalism
2022
Art Cannot Submit
2022
Reason Is a Hoax
2022
Power Is Always Temporary
2007
Medium
Projection
Displayed
Royal Opera House, July 2007
Power Is Always Temporary
explores the transient nature of power through the opera-like, but real-life, experiences of jealousy, infidelity and violence in the lives of women. More
They'll Find You Nude
2007
Medium
Projection
Displayed
Royal Opera, July 2007
In a military conflict, women and children are particularly at risk.
They'll Find You Nude
describes the disruption of domestic
life and the ever-present risk of violence or uninvited sexual attention experienced by one woman during a military coup. More
Cod Wars Turned Me Gay
2022
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK January 2022
'Cod Wars' broke out between the UK and Iceland in 1972 - the same year the UK's first Gay Pride march took place. To herald UK Pride's 50th anniversary year,
Cod Wars Turned Me Gay
lampoons the idea, prevalent in the 1970s, that someone could be turned gay, in this case by the sight of burley trawlermen in dispute over fishing rights. More
Daytime TV Made Me Lesbian
2022
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK January 2022
New legislation, allowing TV companies to broadcast during the day, was passed in 1972 - the same year the first Gay Pride march took place in the UK. To herald UK Pride's 50th anniversary year,
Daytime TV Made Me Lesbian
satirises the ludicrous idea, common in the 1970s, that someone could be turned lesbian, in this case by the sight of glossy daytime TV presenters. More
Embrace Lesbianism and
Overthrow the Social Order
Overthrow the Social Order
2017
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK July 2017
Radical Lesbian feminists of the 60s and 70s suggested there was only one way for a woman to escape
male control: embrace lesbianism as a political rather than a personal act. Feminists argued this would undermine the social structures
that traditionally place men at the top of the social hierarchy.
More
Beware of Boys
2021
Medium
Found footage (b&w, sound)
Duration
1:06
Anti LGBT+ propaganda from the 1960s is re-edited to lampoon its message that
homosexuality is a mental disorder. The artist reverses the roles of the two main characters so it is the
young hitchhiker whose 'illness' prompts him to take advantage of a wholly reasonable and friendly
driver.
More
Overturn Male Supremacy
2017
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK July 2017
In
Overturn Male Supremacy
the artist is re-stating a
demand originally made by gay activists in the 1960s. This, and five other demands from gay liberationists, were presented nationally by the artist to mark
the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act which partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales. More
Renounce the Monster Male
2017
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK July 2017
Lesbian activists of the 1960s characterised aggressive dominant male behaviour
as sub-human or monstrous.
By lampooning patriarchal power, they aimed to lessen its impact and embolden people from all walks of
life to renounce gender-based oppression.
More
Homosexuals and Women
2017
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK July 2017
Activists from the Gay Liberation Front argued that the oppression of women and gay men was a
by-product of rigidly enforced gender roles. They noted, for example, that the gender role of masculinity was linked historically with domination,
oppression and violence.
More
How To Be Popular
2021
Medium
Found footage (b&w, sound)
Duration
1:22
A 1947 public information film advises young people how to be popular, largely by conforming to conventional
gender roles and parental authority. The artist reorganises the material to subvert the heteronormative assumptions of the film's
narration, queering the protagonists so that the 'boy meets girl' story takes a distinctly different turn.
More
Still Revolting
2020
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK October 2020
Homosexuals Are Still Revolting
is a play on a protest placard made by human
rights campaigner Peter
Tatchell for 1973's London Gay Pride. The artist's large-format digital billboards commemorated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the
Gay Liberation Front in the UK by stressing that the struggle for full LGBT+ equality is not yet over. More
Moustache and Leopard Skin
2020
Girl on Girl
2020
Arcadia
2020
Valerie Solanas Shoots Artist
2021
Medium
Manipulated Newsprint
Displayed
UK June 2021
When radical feminist theorist Valerie Solanas shot Andy Warhol, the newspaper
headline read
Andy Warhol Shot by Actress.
The reporting was
lazy and inaccurate. Here, the artist corrects the historical news story, at the same time shifting the main point of reference from Warhol to Solanas. He refers to Solanas by
her full name, reflecting her importance as a key figure in radical feminism and relegating Warhol to anonymous target, albeit describing him accurately
as an artist.
More
A Moral Idea (with Clare Short)
2019
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK July to August 2019
Based on conversations between the artist and Clare Short (Secretary of State
for International Development 1997-2003), the artworks in the
Union City
series explore the moral content of socialism. More
Immoral Flaws
2019
All Members of Society
2019
Secure Employment
2019
Equality for Women
2019
Safety at Work
2019
Cooperative Society
2019
3 Billboards for Blair Peach
2019
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK April 2019
3 billboards for Blair Peach set out to commemorate a man who opposed racism even
though he was not, himself, from an ethnic minority background.
More
Comprendre quelque chose pleinement
2010
Medium
Flyposter 841 x 594mm
Displayed
Marseille December 2010 to February 2011
To Understand A Thing Fully Is To Be Able To Say Nothing About It reflects on the nature of understanding and knowledge. Also titled 'L'Éloquence du Silence', the artwork implies that silence must inevitably fall when understanding exceeds the expressive capabilities of language.
More
Filth
2021
Medium
Found footage (b&w, sound)
Duration
0:38
A 1946 public information film warns against the concentration of media power into a few hands,
and the dangers of censorship. Simultaneously, the artist's reorganisation of the material (and addition of subliminal elements)
subverts any possibility of control or censorship.
More
Counter Culture Rising
2020
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK January to March 2020
Counter Culture Rising
is the artist's response to Trumpism, Brexit and the populist movement.
The artworks recall the key tenets of hippy philosophy as an antidote to troubled times.
The Earth's Crust
2020
War Is Coming
2020
Computers Control Opinion
2020
Telepathic Transit
2020
Super Consciousness
2020
Alice B. Toklas
2020
Self Portrait (on Fire Island)
2021
Medium
Colour gif from 16mm film
Whether or not this is an image of the artist is difficult to determine. It seems more likely that
Self Portrait (on Fire Island)
is intended as an ironic comment on the
modern idea of the selfie, body consciousness and the LGBT+ community. More
Monograph
2020
Medium
Casebound and paperback book
Published
Zurich Books 2020
Curator Barbara Ulbrist surveys the art of Martin Firrell focusing on the years 2018-2020. During this time the artist displayed 40 different artworks on billboards across the UK bringing his particular variety of 'art as debate' to the majority of the country's towns and cities.
More
All Men Are Dangerous
2006
Medium
Projection
Displayed
Duveen Galleries, Tate Britain, February 2006
All Men Are Dangerous
was created for the Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain at a time when wars were
ongoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Both conflicts were widely held to be colonially motivated
and against international law. More
Power and Gender / Men
2019
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK January to March 2019
Power and Gender / Men
examines the changing archetype of masculinity, the impact of social conditioning on men's emotional responses, and the characteristics of power when held by men rather than women.
All Men Are Dangerous
2019
It's Easy to Be Angry
2019
The Great Heroes
2019
A Good Man (with Justin Cochrane)
2019
Men Are Really Great
2019
It's Back to Burt Reynolds
2019
Women and Power
2019
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
UK January to March 2019
Women and Power
was developed in conversation with five women who have experience of power in business, political, or public life. The series examines the difference between the way women and men gain, hold and use power.
Ugly Sweaty Men (with Inga Beale)
2019
When Men Hold Power (with Annie Rickard)
2019
Distorted Power (with Clare Short)
2019
The Simple Idea (with Alex Mahon)
2019
Women Make Up Half (with Liv Garfield)
2019
All Power Is Temporary
2019
Beautiful
2021
Medium
Found footage (colour, sound)
Duration
0:21
A doll is described as
beautiful
17 times in 30 seconds in this 1960s commercial. The artist has re-edited the footage, removing every word except beautiful
, satirising the idea that a woman's value is determined by the way she looks. More
Trans Story
2016
Medium
Digital video billboards
Displayed
UK August 2016
Trans Story
describes the realisation of one trans woman's identity in her own words.
The artwork examines the principle that if all identities are constructed, then all identities
are, at root, equal. Less usual identity constructions are no different.
They are simply less usual. More
All Identity Is Constructed
2016
Medium
Digital video billboards
Displayed
UK August 2016
All Identity
weighs the premise that every identity is a construction, without exception.
Some identities may be less usual than others but all are equally and arbitrarily invented. More
The Hero We've Been Sold Is a Brute
British Army 2009
Medium
Projection
Displayed
British Army Guards' Chapel UK November 2009
The media promote a one-dimensional cardboard cutout of a hero: film and television are full of nightmare visions / erotic dreams in which masculinity, sex,
domination and violence are conflated. Complete Hero presents an alternative, plural
definition of heroism seen through the eyes of military personnel, scientists, artists and philosophers.
More
War Is Always A Failure
British Army 2009
Medium
Projection
Displayed
British Army Guards' Chapel UK November 2009
In
War Is Always a Failure
the artist reflects on conversations about the nature of warfare with British philosopher A.C. Grayling and
military personnel in the British Army.
More
I Want to Live in a City Where
No One Is Sent to War
No One Is Sent to War
2006
Medium
Projection
Displayed
National Gallery UK July 2006
I Want to Live in a City Where
presents a wish-list of liberal policies as digital projections onto the facade of the National Gallery of Great Britain. The series comprises an ambitious, artist-led agenda for civic agitation and renewal.
No One Is Sent to War
2006
Violence Never Works
2006
No One Has to Be Afraid of Standing Out
2006
Fires of London
2016
Medium
Projection
Displayed
National Theatre, September 2016
Fires of London
commemorates the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London. Fire is projected onto the dome of St Paul's in waves of colour consistent with flame of increasing temperatures
(from dull orange to yellow to blue to brilliant white). More
He's Gay, He's Dead
2016
Medium
Projection
Displayed
National Theatre, September 2016
He's Gay, He's Dead
refers to the suicide of British footballer Justin Fashanu in 1998.
Fashanu hanged himself in a disused garage, aged just 37. More
He's Hanging in a Shed
2016
Medium
Projection
Displayed
National Theatre, September 2016
He's Hanging in a Shed
quotes from a homophobic chant, taken up by Ipswich
football supporters against Justin Fashanu: He's gay, he's dead, he's hanging in a shed
. Fashanu's suicide was the catalyst for football's ongoing campaign against homophobia. More
Lesbians Are Out!
2016
Medium
Projection
Displayed
National Theatre, September 2016
In 1988, four women abseiled into the House of Lords shouting, 'Lesbians Are Out!' They were protesting against Clause 28 which effectively demonised LGBT lives. 21 years later, MPs
admitted that the law was offensive and unacceptable.
More
Black Is the Gravity that
Tethers the Luminous World
Tethers the Luminous World
2020-21
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions
Displayed
Switzerland, July and September 2020, March 2021
The Chromatika
is a new psychological theory of colour for the 21st Century, created by the artist in response to Goethe's Zur Farbenlehre / Theory of Colours
and Rudolf Steiner's writings on colour.
Red travels most easily through
the hot, thin atmosphere
the hot, thin atmosphere
2020
Violet bears an ominous
resemblance to "violent"
resemblance to "violent"
2020
Orange suggests other realities
between red and yellow
between red and yellow
2020
Yellow is an instance of happiness
speeding to its own end
speeding to its own end
2020
Indigo is measureless as the uniform
blue-black of the deep pacific
blue-black of the deep pacific
2020
Blue contains all the longing
a human being is capable of
a human being is capable of
2020
Green Is Savage Still as The
Monstrous Fern Forests of Prehistory
Monstrous Fern Forests of Prehistory
2021
White is a desolation,
a non-state like a blank mind
a non-state like a blank mind
2021
Grey is an Ambiguous
No-Man's Land, a half knowing
No-Man's Land, a half knowing
2021
Gender Think-In
2017
Medium
Think-in
Displayed
Lloyd's of London UK, 29 June 2017
The artist invited 200 senior leaders in business, culture and policy to a Think-In, designed to question
traditional gender roles and modelled on the consciousness-raising think-ins pioneered by the
Gay Liberation Front in the early 1970s.
Speakers
2017
Ballot
2017
Participants
2017
The One Irreducible Truth
2005
Medium
Digital billboard
Displayed
London railway stations December 2005
The artist paraphrases the renowned American sex researcher Alfred Kinsey as he famously concluded that difference in human sexuality was the only universal constant.
More
For Your Information (fyi)
2021
Medium
Colour gif from 16mm film
For Your Information (fyi)
is a 6 frame gif drawn from a 1959 US military information film.
The film deals with nuclear testing and the need for strict secrecy if the enemies of America are to be kept at bay. In this
repurposed form, the artist uses the same messaging to question the value of any information contained in his own artworks.
He is, in effect, saying, 'Ignore anything I say here. Make up your own mind.' More
