Fayann Smith
Artist Statement and Selected Art CV

My practice is defined by three principal concerns: futurism and ethics, the iconography of autonomous internet communities and the concept of esoteric or hidden truth. My formative experiences were framed by the transition from analogue to digital; a development that marked yet another dramatic shift in human culture in an era of exponential change. I grew up into a world that accepted hyperconnectivity as the norm, locked in the glow of an ever present screen. Reality fractured, with the digital realm becoming a distinct and immersive experience replete with its own nomenclature and established communities.

Our cultural output and social interactions continue to be increasingly mediated via technology, bringing with them ethical concerns never before imagined and not adequately addressed by either law or an established philosophical framework. Our contemporary moment is marked by the unprecedented and potentially terrifying evolution of the human experience.  

As new forces of influence emerge from the online world and our sensory environment is distorted and enhanced by post-human capabilities, it is difficult to predict the ultimate result of our experimentation. As previous institutions, religious and governmental, have lost connection with the public, a new mythos is in genesis. The search for meaning and shared values is increasingly established through internet lore, our online selves projecting the most extreme good and bad humanity is capable of.

The detritus of this virtual hunger for identity is the instigator of my exploration. The conspiracy You Tubers live streaming three hour shows about recent global events in raging, hysterical voices. A young woman who is unceremoniously “doxxed” and now her life is in danger. The incomprehensible pool of data, exposing our fragility, secrets, desires and ingenuity. In this murky, frequently amoral landscape can we trust ourselves not to give into our darkest desires? Can we embrace A.I without becoming enmeshed, or crushed, by our beloved machines? What old Gods and new monsters will  ‘the dawn of new everything’ invoke into being? 

Selected International Press

Smith’s work has been featured in Artforum, The Art Newspaper, ARTnews, Artnet News, Frieze, Art Daily, Artlyst, Artribune, Exibart, Blouin Artinfo, Contemporary Lynx, Art Africa, Art Observed, CAA News, a-n, Le Quotidien de l’Art and Finestre sull’Arte. Additional commentary and features were published by ArtsJournal, After Nyne Magazine and Cornucopia, reflecting critical engagement across both specialist and independent art platforms.

International media coverage extended to major cultural and global publications including Financial Times, Forbes, Wallpaper, Vogue Polska, Vogue Russia, Dazed, Surface, It’s Nice That, Elle Decor, The Atlantic, Robb Report, Culture Whisper, AFAR, among others.

Selected CV  

2020
Obsolete
Mars & Beyond
Bargehouse OXO Tower, London 
Curated by Oskar Krajewski
October! Collective
Live performance, video, sound art
Featuring Morgan Barbour

2019
Hidden Child
MERDELAMERDELAMERDELAMERDELAMERDELAMER
Mario Mauroner Contemporary Art Vienna
Curated by Kendell Geers
October! Collective: Fayann Smith, Aleksandra Karpowicz, Isabella Steinsdotter
Video

Exhibited alongside Marina Abramović, Sanell Aggenbach, Lynda Benglis, Pamela Berkovic, Belinda Blignaut, Bianca Bondi, Anna Ceeh, Valie Export, FXXX (Iv Toshain and Anna Ceeh), Gilbert and George, Susy Gómez, Fabrice Hyber, Aleksandra Karpowicz, Thomas Lerooy, Tracy Payne, Sandrine Pelletier, Yapci Ramos, Anneliese Schrenk, Lerato Shadi, Hank Willis Thomas, Betty Tompkins, Iv Toshain and Sophie Whettnall.

2019 
Body as Home
Selected as Flagship exhibition inaugurating Venice’s first permanent art quarter 
3 Channel Film installation with score
October! Collective: Aleksandra Karpowicz, Fayann Smith, Isabella Steinsdotter
Giudecca Art District, Project Space 01, Venice
Curated by Miguel Mallol

Exhibited alongside: Yoko Ono, Kendell Geers, Pia Myrvold, Gig Depio, Tanner Goldbeck, Waseem Marzouki, Lilli Muller, Randi Matushevitz, Kazuko Miyamoto, Moataz Nasr, Qasim Riza Shaheen, Vincenzo Castella, Lynn Davis, Jacob Hashimoto, Roberto Pugliese, Hiroyuki Masuyama, Norbert Delman, Małgorzata Goliszewska, Bartek Górny, Laura Grudniewska, Marta Hryniuk, Kornel Janczy, Tomasz Koszewnik, Dorota Kozieradzka, Magdalena Łazarczyk, Karolina Mełnicka, Maciej Nowacki, Cyryl Polaczek and Stach Szumski. 

2019
Rhythms of Dissent
October! Collective: Aleksandra Karpowicz, Fayann Smith, Isabella Steinsdotter
Live performance marking the opening of the Giudecca Art District during the 58th Venice Biennale.
Giudecca Island, Venice

Presented as part of the district’s inaugural programme Rhythms of Dissent launched Venice’s first permanent contemporary art quarter on Giudecca Island, activating the waterfront with a collective action centred on sound, movement and the body as a political site. Through percussion, choreography and durational presence, the artists foregrounded the body as both instrument and territory, drawing attention to questions of belonging and resistance that underpin their wider practice. 

2019
Live performance of Body As Home score
October! Collective 
MACRO – Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma, Rome
Exhibitors and guest speakers: Valentina Gioia Levy, Pier Paolo Scelsi, Miguel Mallol, Aleksandra Karpowicz, October! Collective, Anita Calà, Elena Giulia Rossi, Francesca Arri, Pia Myrvold

2019
They Were Wearing Headsets
Text
MAUER MAUER
GSL Projekt, Berlin
Group exhibition marking the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
Presented by GSL Projekt and Zoopark
Curated by Alana Lake

MAUER MAUER reflected on division, segregation, reunification, freedom and liberation, positioning the wall as a metaphor for recurring socio-political cycles of destruction and progression, regression and renewal. The exhibition considered circular narratives shaped by uncertainty and tension alongside moments of hope and change.
Exhibited alongside Alana Lake, Ana Alenso, Bazooka, Christa D’Angelo, Craig Havens, Daniel Hoflund, Frank Jimin, Louise Thomas and Zoopark.

2019
The Garden
Text
Group exhibition
Curated by Alana Lake
Backyard
GSL Projekt, Berlin

2017
Mass Production Mass Seduction
Text
Group exhibition
Curated by Alana Lake
Mehr
GSL Projekt, Berlin

2014
Behold
in association with Bow Arts Trust
The Ivy
Art curated by Alana Lake and performance curated by Fayann Smith 

Exhibited Alongside: Gordon Cheung, Tessa Garland, Jon Monaghan, Ulu Braun, James Howard, Joey Holder, Clare Mitten, Alana Lake, Theo Adams Company, Archos, Bjørn Hatleskog, Julia Haynes, Ze Æs (Martin Thomlinson,Selfish c**t)

2010
Will the real UK citizen please stand up
The Happy House, Morton Metropolis, London

2009

Sexy Scandinavian
Transatlantic Pride, Clifford Chance, London
Curated by Michael Petry
Exhibited alongside Kerry Andrews, Annie Attridge, Roberto Ekholm, Rotimi Fani Kayodé, Lucia King, Alana Lake and Stuart Mayes

2008
Sound art compilation 
Music curated and co-produced by Fayann Smith 
Everlasting Nothing Less
Anna Kustera Gallery
New York
Music component later added to the permanent collection of MoMA

2007
!WOWOW!
Untitled 
Live performance 
Curated by Millie Brown and Adham Faramawy
Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery