Bulls and Flora

Fairnington made six paintings of bulls (Turbo Tommy, 2009, Maerdy Tally, 2009, Gretnahouse Umpire, 2010, Soldier, 2010, Duncombe Aga Khan, 2011, Wroxhall Tracer, 2009) and seven paintings of flora (Cuculidae Slipper Orchid, 2011, Plant Plant, 2011, Ms Butterfly, 2011, Cuckoo Moth, 2011, Roadrunner Zygopetalum, 2011, Turaco Green Lady, 2011 and Coucal Cattleya, 2011) that are reproduced in the publication ‘Mark Fairnington Unnatural History’, accompanying Fairnington’s solo exhibition ‘Unnatural History’, which was funded by the Mannheimer Kunstverien and Galerie Peter Zimmermann and included fifty one paintings and drawings by Fairnington. The publication includes an interview with Fairnington by the writer and psychoanalyst Darian Leader discussing his research process, as well as essays by Martin Stather and Mary Madden. The six paintings of bulls reproduced in the ‘Mark Fairnington Unnatural Histories’ publication were also shown in the group exhibition ‘The Nature of the Beast’ at The New Art Gallery Wallsall in 2013, which included works by Mat Collishaw, Tessa Farmer, Polly Morgan, Olly and Suzi, and Patricia Piccinini. The painting ‘Meardy Tally’ was included in ‘A Duck for Mr Darwin’, a group exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, curated by Alessandro Vincentell.

The research process for Fairnington’s paintings of Bulls and Flora is founded on a sustained dialogue between the artist, museum curators and scientists that has focused on taxonomy, in particular the idea of ‘the one standing in for all’ and includes projects at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, the Natural History Museum and the Horniman Museum, London.

For records for related exhibitions, please see:
http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/5197/; http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/5884/; http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/4309/; http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/2288/.