Biography
Andy Bannister lives and works in London. He studied fine art at Nottingham Polytechnic and completed the MA Sculpture course at Chelsea College of Art in 1992. Shortly after graduating his work was selected for the 1993 BT New Contemporaries exhibition and included in the influential ‘Institute of Cultural Anxiety’ exhibition at the ICA, London in 1994. Since then he has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad. He has worked in higher education since 1993 and is currently a Senior Tutor at City & Guilds of London Art School. In 2023, he became a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.
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Statement
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My current practice investigates the impact of science and technology on culture and society during the second half of the twentieth century through to the present day. An ongoing series of highly detailed pencil drawings- including the works Fermi/Chicago '42, ROC Post '64 and Blockade/Upper Heyford '82- involves the careful reworking of images and documents that correspond to developments within atomic science and the threat of nuclear confrontation; in meticulously recreating and modifying these images, I explore their latent meanings and the nature of the events and artefacts that they depict.
The mixed media installation work Final Day 1980:2016 relates to the escalation of the nuclear threat during the early 1980's, a period of global tension which has been referred to as the 'Second Cold War'. The piece comprises a number of elements- a detailed scale model of the above-ground structures of an ROC (Royal Observer Corps) underground nuclear monitoring post; a video, shot from inside a decommissioned bunker comprising cross-faded still images of the sky, representing the course of a single day; an audio recording of a musical composition based on the notes that make up the short instrumental section from the 1980 song 'Final Day' by the band Young Marble Giants; and a framed photographic close-up of the label of the 7" EP single on which the song appears.
The song in question was released in June 1980- the same month that the British government revealed its plans to store the first US nuclear cruise missiles on British soil, at the RAF bases at Greenham Common and Molesworth in Cambridgeshire. The track can be seen as a response from within British independent music culture to the increased possibility of nuclear confrontation between the two global superpowers during this time. The new composition that it inspired resembles an extended two-part 'round' or plainsong, in instrumental form; combined with the other components in the work it suggests either peace or oblivion, or both.
Other works- including the digital drawings/giclee prints Gemini/Kettering '71 and Delta/Thetford '83- are informed by my research into the play structures that furnished the recreation areas of British towns and cities from the 1960’s through to the 1980’s. The designs of these artefacts reflect the optimism of the times in which they were created- an era epitomised by the space race, the moon landings and colour television. Most of these structures have now vanished, superseded by newer (and arguably safer) designs, while some continue to exist as deteriorating relics of this earlier age. I see my works as an exploration of the gradual disappearance of these objects and a meditation on their persistence, both in consciousness and actuality.
CV
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Education
1991-1992
Fine Art M.A. (Sculpture), Chelsea College of Art and Design
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1987-1990
Fine Art B.A. [Hons], Nottingham Polytechnic
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One person exhibitions
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2018
'Surface to Air', Turner Sims, University of Southampton
2001
METAFORA project space, Barcelona, Spain
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1993
the agency, London
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Selected group exhibitions
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2023
'Next:Previous', Gerald Moore Gallery, Mottingham, London
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2022
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2022 exhibition. National tour during 2022-3- various venues including Trinity Buoy Wharf, London; Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery; ArtHouse Jersey. Selected by Lucy Byatt, Danie Mellor, Isabel Seligman
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2018
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2018 exhibition. National tour during 2018-19- various venues including Trinity Buoy Wharf, London; the Gallery at AUB, Bournemouth; Royal Drawing School, London; Drawing Projects UK, Trowbridge; Chapel Gallery, Ormskirk. Selected by Megan Piper, Nigel Hall and Dr. Chris Stephens
'New Relics', Thames Side Studios Gallery, London
2017
Jerwood Drawing Prize 2017 exhibition. National tour during 2017-18- various venues including Jerwood Space, London; Edge Gallery, Bath; Vane Gallery, Newcastle. Selected by David Dibsosa, Helen Legg and Michael Simpson.
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2016
Propeller Foundry Open Studio, Childer's Street, London
2007
‘Distance’, APT Gallery, Deptford, London
‘Notting Heaven’, Sartorial Contemporary, London
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2006
‘Requiem’, St. Anselm’s Church, Kennington, London
‘Obsession’, Sartorial Contemporary, London
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2004
'Marks in Space: Drawing and Sculptural Form', Usher Gallery, Lincoln
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2000
‘Snowballing’, at Arthur. R. Rose (gallery), London and The Henry Moore Institute (gallery), Leeds
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1999
‘Andrew Bannister- Sharon Kivland- Nicolas Rieben’, Centre d'art Contemporain de Rueil-Malmaison, Paris
‘A Distortion of Memory on the Acropolis’, Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research, London
‘Passion’, Gasworks gallery, London
‘10 x 10-5 m/sec’, Standpoint Gallery, London
‘Nerve’, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
‘Artists from Nottingham Trent University’, Boots D90 building, Nottingham
‘Dot’, 5 Teesdale Yard (project/studio space), London
1998
‘Grey Area’, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham
Whitechapel Open exhibition, The Tannery, London
(Selected by Julian Opie, Lucia Noguiera and Felicity Lunn)
1997
‘Visitor', Staffordshire University (various sites on university campus), Stoke-on-Trent
‘Drone’, Kingsgate Gallery, London
1996
‘Whitechapel Open exhibition’, Commercial Too, London. Selected by Richard Wentworth, Alison Wilding and Keith Ball
'SAD', Gasworks Gallery, London 'Quarterlight', (Public Project), Upper rooms at Site Gallery, Sheffield
1995
‘Sculpture and Drawing Biennale’, Caldas Da Rainha, Portugal
'SMART SHOW' (art fair), Stockholm (with the agency, London)
1994
'The Institute of Cultural Anxiety: Works from the Collection' (curated by Jeremy Millar), Institute of Contemporary Arts, London*'Turning Up', at 'The View' (warehouse/project space), Gostins Building, Liverpool, Organised by F.A.T., B*sk, and Hales Gallery, London
'Miniatures', the agency (gallery), London
'FEED', Quicksilver place gallery space, Middlesex University
1993-4
British Telecom New Contemporaries National Touring Exhibition (selected by Caroline Russell, Willie Doherty, Stuart Morgan). Cornerhouse, Manchester; Orchard Gallery, Derry; Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield; Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow
'Adsite', Public Project organised by FAT, various locations in Central London
1992
'Into the Nineties #4', Mall Galleries, London
'Fresh Art 92', Business Design Centre, London
1991
'Seen and Not Heard', Angel Row Gallery Touring exhibition
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Curatorial projects
2007
‘Distance’ , APT Gallery, London. Works by Mark Riley, Candice Jacobs, Tom Godfrey, Judith Dean, Sean Cummins, Andrew Bannister
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1998
‘Grey Area' at Bonington Gallery, Nottingham. Works by Mike Nelson, Phillip Lai and Andrew Bannister
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Press coverage/reviews
1999
Christian Gattinoni, article on exhibition at Centre d'Art Contemporain de Rueil-Malmaison, Paris, Arts Croises (magazine), issue no 11 [April-May]
1998
Dawn Fulcher, article on 'Grey Area', Contemporary Visual Arts issue no. 17
Robert Clark, article on 'Grey Area', The Guardian (north guide) [10.1.98]
1997
Padraig Timoney, review of 'Visitor', Frieze [November-December]
1996
Carl Freedman, review of 'Whitechapel Open' exhibition,The Guardian [30.7.96]
Martin Coomer, review of 'Whitechapel Open' exhibition, Time Out [14.8.96]
Wayne Burrows, article on 'Quarterlight' exhibition, Sheffield, The Big Issue [25.11.96]
1995
Simon Grant, review of 'The Institute of Cultural Anxiety' exhibition, Art Monthly [February]
Stuart Morgan, 'The Future's Not What It Used To Be', feature on ICA exhibition, Frieze [March-April]
1994
Sarah Kent, review of 'The Institute of Cultural Anxiety' exhibition, Time Out [19.12.94]
1993
Andrew Graham-Dixon, review of BT New Contemporaries, The Independent [22.6.93]
Lynn McRitchie, review of BT New Contemporaries, Financial Times [2.7.93]
Tania Guha, review of one person exhibition at the agency, Time Out [7.9.93]
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Publications and catalogues relating to exhibitions/projects
2004
'Marks in Space: Drawing and Sculptural Form'. Includes essays by Judith Mottram and Alain Ayers. Published by Usher Gallery, Lincoln
2000
Publication accompanying ‘Snowballing’ exhibition, Arthur R.Rose, London and Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
‘In the Place of an Object’, publication documenting the 1998-9 programme of exhibitions at the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research, London (which included ‘A Distortion of Memory on the Acropolis’)
1999
‘Andrew Bannister’; publication accompanying the exhibition ‘Andrew Bannister- Sharon Kivland- Nicolas Rieben’. Published by Centre d’Art Contemporain de Rueil-Malmaison, Paris, France.
Includes essay by Alex Coles
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Publication accompanying ‘Nerve’ exhibition at ICA, London. Includes essay by Dave Beech
1997
‘Quarterlight’; publication documenting public projects in Sheffield. Includes essays by Isabel Vasseur and Tim Etchells. Published by Workstation, Sheffield
1995
Publication for Drawing and Sculpture Biennale, Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
1994
Publication forThe Institute of Cultural Anxiety exhibition, ICA, London. Includes essay by Francis McKee. Published by ICA
1993
Publication for BT New Contemporaries 92-93 exhibition. Includes essay by Stuart Morgan. Published by BT New Contemporaries, London
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Own published writing
2004
Review of 'Transmission: Speaking and Listening Volume 2', edited by Sharon Kivland and Lesley Sanderson, published by Sheffield Hallam University, in a-n magazine, March 2004 (p. 7)
Text contribution to publication accompanying 'Cleave' exhibition by Sean Cummins at the Economist Building, London
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Published interview
2011
Transcript of Sarah Rowles’ interview with Andy Bannister in '11 Course leaders, 2 Questions: Where in art education does the education take place?' (Book published by Q-Art, 2011)