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Jacob Kaucher
Martin Firrell at MoMa
2019
Views 1,592,454
Martin Firrell
British, born Paris France. 1963
Martin Firrell is a British public artist whose 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'.
View full Wikipedia entry
98 artworks online
Curated by
Barbara Ulbrist + Dr. Christiane Kunz
Wikidata
Q6775431
Embrace Lesbianism and
Overthrow the Social Order
2017
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions

Displayed
UK July 2017

Radical Lesbian feminists suggested there was only one way for a woman to escape male control - embrace lesbianism as a political rather than a personal act, so undermining the social structures that place men at the top of the social hierarchy.
Beware of Boys
2021
Medium
Found footage (b&w, sound)

Duration
1:07

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.
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the artist is re-stating a demand originally made by gay activists in the 1960s.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 to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act which partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales.
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.
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. 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.
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.
Girl on Girl
2020
The artwork
Girl on Girl
is intended to champion lesbian visibility. A woman responds auto-erotically to her own image in the mirror, or perhaps she is about to kiss her lesbian lover.
Arcadia
2020
Arcadia
quotes visually from the work of the German photographer Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856 – 1931) one of the first photographers of expressly homoerotic nudes. The artwork evokes the ancient Greeks' acceptance of physical relationships between men as something valuable and far from unusual.
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.
Here the artist revises and corrects the historical news story, referring to Solanas by her full name and describing her target anonymously, but accurately, as an
artist.
Protest Is Liberty's Ally
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.
Immoral Flaws
2019
A society can be immoral, not because of something it does, but because of something it doesn't do - like failing to secure the welfare of all its citizens. 
Equality for Women
2019
Lil O'Callaghan was a union steward in the Transport and General Workers Union at the Ford car plant in Dagenham.

She urged the union to back strike action in support of 187 Ford sewing machinists, all women, who were demanding to be recognised as skilled workers and paid the same rate as their skilled male counterparts.
Safety at Work
2019
The union banner of the Gedling Colliery in Nottinghamshire includes the words: 'safety at work, five-day week, family allowances.' 

This contemporary artwork re-states those ideas as a reminder that it was Friendly Societies and the trade union movement that first made work safer, reduced working hours, and paved the way for the National Health Service. 
A Moral Idea
(with Clare Short)
2019
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions

Displayed
UK July to August 2019

Clare Short maintains it is a mistake to link socialism to any one system of social or economic organisation. Socialism is first and foremost an ethical position concerning the inclusion and welfare of all.
Filth
2021
Medium
Found footage (b&w, sound)

Duration
0:56

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.
Power Is Always Temporary
2007
Medium
Projection

Displayed
Royal Opera, July 2007

Power Is Always Temporary
explores the opera-like, but real-life, experiences of jealousy, infidelity and violence in the lives of women.
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.
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 of the modern idea of the selfie, body consciousness and the LGBT+ community.
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.
All Men Are Dangerous
2006
Medium
Projection

Displayed
Tate Britain, February 2006

All Men Are Dangerous
was created for Tate Britain against the backdrop of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts that were widely held to be colonially motivated and against international law.
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.
It's Easy to Be Angry
2019
Actor Nathan Fillion suggests men like his character Capt Mal Reynolds (in the scifi show
Firefly
are often discouraged from expressing their emotions by social pressure.

It is far better for men to be allowed to express their feelings without being judged, especially those more difficult and nuanced emotions like sadness, fear or loss.
The Great Heroes
2019
The great heroes in the works of Homer regularly express their emotions by weeping.

These portrayals of masculinity from Ancient Greek literature depict men as strengthened and fortified by their capacity to express feeling.
A Good Man
(with Justin Cochrane)
2019
Justin Cochrane, Chief Executive of out of home media company Clear Channel UK, suggests younger generations of men have a new attitude towards power.

In place of the old stereotype of the lone-wolf Chief Executive, the next generation of leaders is more inclusive and thoughtful, informed by a deep sense of responsibility.
Men Are
Really Great
2019
This text first appeared in the projection, Complete Hero, created by the artist for the British Army in 2009.

The full text reads, 'Men are really great or at least have the capacity to be great in them.'
Burt Reynolds
2019
In 1972, the actor Burt Reynolds posed for Cosmopolitan magazine, becoming the world's first nude male centrefold.

In uncertain times, perhaps it's natural to look to the past for reassurance - to a time when the world seemed more straightforward.
Power and Gender / Women
2019
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions

Displayed
UK January to March 2019

Power and Gender / Women
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.
Distorted Power
(with Clare Short)
2019
Clare Short, former Secretary of State for International Development, regards power in its historical context.

History teaches that the concentration of power into very few hands, regardless of gender, invariably leads to exploitation of the powerless.
The Simple Idea
(with Alex Mahon)
2019
Alex Mahon, Chief Executive of Channel 4, maintains it is important to acknowledge that women in senior leadership positions are still relatively rare.

The idea that opportunity is now equally available to every woman must be confronted because it is simply not yet true.
Women Make Up
Half the Population
(with Liv Garfield)
2019
Liv Garfield, Chief Executive of the water company Severn Trent, is the youngest woman ever to lead a FTSE 100 company.

She believes it is inevitable that women will rise to senior positions as long as recruitment is based on merit alone.
Ugly Sweaty Men
(with Inga Beale)
2019
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions

Displayed
UK January to March 2019

Inga Beale, former Chief Executive of Lloyd's, the world's oldest insurance market, maintains that double standards still apply to men and women. Men are judged by what they can do. Women are still judged first by the way they look.
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
, to undermine the 60s idea that a woman's value is determined by the way she looks.
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.
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.
The Hero We've Been
Sold Is a Brute
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.
War Is Always A Failure
2009
Medium
Projection

Displayed
British Army Guards' Chapel
UK November 2009

In
War Is Always a Failure
the artist reflects on conversations with British philosopher A.C. Grayling and military personnel in the British Army.
I Want to Live in a
City Where 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.
I Want to Live in a
City Where Violence
Never Works
2006
I Want to Live in a City Where Violence Never Works
suggests that violence proliferates where it can reasonably be regarded as productive.

If violence can be shown to be useless or futile, its incidence in civic life might diminish correspondingly.
I Want to Live in a
City Where No One
Has to Be Afraid of
Standing Out
2006
I Want to Live in a City Where No One Has to Be Afraid of Standing Out
calls for a city and civic life characterised by greater tolerance and inclusion for all.

This is of particular significance for individuals and communities that might be regarded as 'other' and made vulnerable by the perception of their otherness.
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).
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 hung himself in a disused garage, aged just 37.
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.
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.
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
The text
Sun Not Despair
appears in both English and Arabic. The inclusion of Arabic text was intended to be political and conciliatory: regardless of geo-politics, we all want to ‘live in the light of the sun’ rather than in the darkness of despair.
Sun (Arabic)
2008
The Arabic script for
sun
evokes humanity's shared fortune - we all live under, and depend on, the same sun regardless of differences in language, culture or belief.
What Makes
Life Meaningful
2008
The Whispering Gallery texts present complex and contradictory answers to the question, 'What makes life meaningful?'
I Don't Think This Is
What God Intended
2008
Doubt plays an important role in Christian theological tradition. 'Doubting Thomas' is a compelling figure in the Christ story.

This fact made it possible to present audacious, self-questioning content like:
I Don't Think This Is What God Intended
.
The Taking of Christ
(Caravaggio c.1602)
2008
Caravaggio's
The Taking of Christ
refers to Christ's betrayal by Judas Iscariot in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper.

Luke 22:47: Jesus asked him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’
A Kiss
2008
A Kiss
is the artist's evocation of christ's betrayal by Judas Iscariot, and at the same time an acknowledgement of the importance of intimacy, of any kind, in any human life.
Black Is the Gravity
that Tethers the
Luminous World
2020-21
Medium
Digital billboards, various dimensions

Displayed
Switzerland, July and Sep 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
2020
Of red the artist wrote: I once saw fireworks rising from the coast of Sicily in celebration of a saint's day. I was high up above the coast in a hill town, looking down on the whole landscape.

When the fireworks came, the blue and green seemed far away but the red travelled very quickly towards me like a great red chrysanthemum of expanding fire.
Violet Bears an
Ominous Resemblance
to 'Violent'
2020
Of violet the artist wrote: I once owned a little watercolour of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria. In my journal I described the sky above the town as filled with 'ominous violet (violent) storm clouds.'

This correlation between 'violet' and 'violent' is about more than the similarity of the English words. I think it's no coincidence that bruises are violet too.
Orange Suggests Other
Realities Between
Red and Yellow
2020
Of orange the artist wrote: Imagine a darker and darker orange until you have red, imagine a lighter and lighter orange until you have yellow - it's possible to do this even if you had never seen red or yellow before.

Orange points to this possibility of intuiting other realities, hidden to ordinary ways of seeing.
Yellow Is an Instance
of Happiness
Speeding to Its Own End
2020
Of yellow the artist wrote: I once shared a flat with a woman who had lots of yellow textiles in her room - yellow blinds, yellow cushions . . .

I thought the colour was very cheerful but she said a friend had told her yellow was a depressing colour often associated with suicide.
Indigo Is Measureless as
the Uniform Blue-Black
of the Deep Pacific
2020
Of indigo the artist wrote: I once found an odd little book called 'The Blue of Capricorn' in an antiquarian bookshop. It described the vast waters of the Pacific's Kuroshio Current as 'a deep uniform indigo, almost black, colour.'

To me this captures indigo's true nature - the colour of the unthinkable depths of the sea, the colour of profound measurelessness.
Blue Contains All the
Longing a Human Being
Is Capable of
2020
Of blue the artist wrote: I love the way blue light seems to be moving away from you, and yet it is also light travelling towards you in the darkness.

I felt that if you had the perfect blue, it would contain all the longing a human being could ever feel.
Green Is Savage Still
as the Monstrous Fern
Forests of Prehistory
2020
Of green the artist wrote: I feel green is far from the peaceful colour most people think it is.

Green is like the garden in Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer - 'a tropical jungle in the p rehistoric age of giant fern-forests when living creatures had flippers turning to limbs and scales to skin'.
White Is a Desolation,
a Non-State Like
a Blank Mind
2021
Of white the artist wrote: When I think of white, I imagine a landscape under a perfect covering of snow. Everything is white, dazzling, turned into a cold blank desert.  

Under these conditions, white is not a colour at all, but a blinding nothing, an absence, an empty mind.
Grey Is an Ambiguous
No-Man's Land,
a Half Knowing
2021
Of grey the artist wrote: For me, grey is always difficult to seize hold of. It is a misty enigma between the emphatic certainties of black and white.

Grey is a nowhere space inhabited by no one. Grey is like being half-conscious of something, which is itself a nonsense, a state as vague as grey.
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.
Gender Think-In: Speakers
Peter Tatchell, 2017
Peter Tatchell acknowledged the pioneers of the early LGBT+ movement, and the achievements of the past 50 years, but also highlighted the inequalities that persist under British law.
Gender Think-In: Ballot
2017
A gender ballot aimed to determine the extent to which current gender norms serve the majority of people.

Participants were asked to self-score their feminine and masculine sides. They were then invited to evaluate their sense of personal variance or conformity to gender norms.
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.
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.'
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