NEW WORK


Cotton stitched onto unprimed canvas. Each: 1.3 metres square.

ARTSADMIN 30


It's Your Fault - Franko B (photograph by Hugo Glendinning)
Franko B's studio, Toynbee Studios.

Commission for Arsadmin 30 - publication featuring 30 artists who work with ArtsAdmin to mark their 30th anniversary.

Featured in The Guardian, 15th December 2009.

MY...HURTS

My.....hurts
My.....hurts
Franko B

This is one of the Live Art Development Agency's tenth anniversary commissioned artworks exclusive to Unbound.

1 Edition in a series of 10 consisting of 9 framed silver pen on black paper drawings and one triptych, 33.5cm x 33.5cm x 4.5cm, signed and editioned on the back.


1 my knees hurt
2 my head hurts
3 my ass hurts
4 my fingers hurt
5 my heart hurts
6 my tummy hurts
7 my foot hurts
8 my cock hurts
9 no more pain
10 Triptych consists of skull, boating lake and heart house, and men with cocks.

DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY

DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - Performance by Franko B and Kamal Ackarie.
Part of Incubate Festival, Tilburg, NL.
16th September 2009.

DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY

DON'T LEAVE ME THIS WAY - performance by Franko B and Kamal Ackarie, 16th September 2009.
Part of Incubate festival, Tilburg, NL.

I'M THINKING OF YOU - photos




Photos by Francesco Bartoli.

I'M THINKING OF YOU - performance on 3rd July 2009
part of II Encuentro Internacional El Arte es Acción festival, at Valle-Inclán Theatre, Madrid, Spain.

LOW LIVES


FiveMyles in Brooklyn, Diaspora Vibe Gallery in Miami
and labotanica in Houston Present

Low Lives
Curated by Jorge Rojas

Saturday, August 8, 2009 from 6 to 9 p.m. (EST)

LOW LIVES is an exhibition of live performance-based works transmitted via the internet and projected in real time at three venues throughout the U.S.- FiveMyles, Brooklyn; Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Miami; and labotanica, Houston in partnership with Project Row Houses (5 – 8 pm in Houston).

Artists include Abby Donovan; Adam Trowbridge; Amanda Alfieri; Bishop Bishop; Carlos Rodal; Carol & Jonas Pereira-Olson; Carolina Vasquez & Bethan Marlow; Caroline Boileau; Danielle Abrams; Denise Prince; Eden Mazer & Rachel Frank; ErikAndTheAnimals; Eseohe Arhebamen / edoheart; Flounder Lee; Franko B; Fred Koenig; Genevieve Erin O'Brien; Igor Josifov; Inge Hoonte & Michelle Tupko; Javier A. Lara, Rose DiSalvo, Chris; Jeanne Jo; Joe Nanashe; Johanna Reich; Kelly Kleinschrodt; Kenya (Robinson); Mark L. Stafford; Profesor Bazuco; Robert Crosse; Rosamond S. King; Rotliebend: Johanna Bruckner & Melissa Steckbauer; Sergio Lamanna; Y. E. Torres (ms.YET) & Sandy Ewen.

FiveMyles: 558 St. Johns Place, Brooklyn
Diaspora Vibe Gallery: 3938 North Miami Ave, Miami
Labotanica at Project Row Houses: 2521 Holman, Houston (5 – 8 pm)

Diaspora Vibe Gallery’s Off the Wall Experimental Series funded in part by Funding Arts Network (FAN)

Contact: Jorge Rojas, Curator: keoqui@gmail.com

I'M THINKING OF YOU - photos

I'M THINKING OF YOU - Photographs by Frances Ottaway
Performance at Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea L. Pecci, Prato, Italy. 27th - 28th May 2009, part of Contemporanea Colline Festival.
Music composed and performed by Helen Ottaway.



BIG DEAL No2

BIG DEAL No2 - Group show, curated by Vanya Balogh.
July - August 2009, Private view 15th July, 6-10pm
view by appointment, 07821158071
St James Road, London, Se16

I'M THINKING OF YOU - review

Review by Lisa Skuret in NOWISWERE Contemporary Art Magazine, Issue Nr. 4, May 2009.
Read the article here
I'M THINKING OF YOU, performed at VISIONS OF EXCESS, 12th April 2009. 

ONE DAY EXHIBITION

Franko B  and Joao Leonardo - One day show at The Mews Project Space, 15C Osborn Street, London E1
13th June 2009,  4-9 pm

THE BODY OF ART

THE BODY OF ART - BBC Radio 4,  Tuesday 9th June 2009.
Bob Dickinson talks to performance artists who have used their own bodies as a site for art, and in doing so challenged the limits of what it means to be human.
Including Stellarc, Orlan, Marina Abramovic, Franko B, Tehching Hsieh and the Chinese artist He Yun Chang, Bob Dickinson asks what makes them want to endure discomfort, pain and isolation. He reports on the way in which certain artists are now moving away from the limited space of their bodies, fascinated by the way technology and genetic engineering are remapping our understanding of the self.
Listen on BBC iPlayer

VISIONS OF EXCESS - dvd

VISIONS OF EXCESS - DVD out now:


Visions of Excess was a non-stop, 12 hour voyage into the heart of darkness, a communion with the ragged spirit of Georges Bataille, exploring the philosophers key themes of death, eroticism and the forbidden. This dvd features documentation from Visions of Excess London. Easter Sunday, 2009. Commissioned by SPILL Festival.

Curated by Ron Athey and Lee Adams, and hosted by David Hoyle the event featured live performances, installations, film screenings and DJs. This dvd features excerpts from work by Lee Adams, Ron Athey, Franko B, Gio Black Peter, Bruce La Bruce, Christophe Chemin, Peter Christopherson, Zackary Drucker, Flawless Sabrina, Dominic Johnson, Mouse, Kira O'Reilly, L.Gabrielle Penabaz, Lazlo Pearlman, SmaxXx, Suka Off, Samantha Sweeting, Julie Tolentino and Veenus Vortex.

Lee Adams, Ron Athey and Live Art Development Agency 2010, DVD-PAL, 57 minutes.
£7.50

FRANKO B - archive

FRANKO B's archive is held at University of Bristol
What's in the Archive?
The archive covers the last 20 years of Franko’s work, and includes material in a wide variety of formats related to his performances, screenings, exhibitions, collaborations, mentoring, books and visual art.
View the list of items in the Franko B Archive (coming soon)
Franko B with his archive, Toynbee Studios, 2008
DIY Bleeding Kit. Photo: Manuel Vason Franko B wearing garments produced from performance residue, 'I Miss You', 2000. Photo: Manuel Vason Franko B, flag from 'They Shoot Children don't They?, 2006. Franko B, 'Mama I can't sing', 1995. Photo: Manuel Vason
There are posters and photographs of Franko and his work, and also a number of items made from the cloth Franko has bled onto during his performances, including several garments. Other artefacts include the number counter machine, the bleeding kit, two kilner jars of syringes and other objects associated with bleeding, and the fabric representing the British and American flags with blood splatters from 'They Shoot Children Don’t They' (2006) – a piece relating to the Iraq war.

Franko will continue to add to the archive as his performance works develop in coming years. He has recently decided to discontinue bleeding in performance, and is pursuing other challenging creative strategies, including painting.

In 'Don't Leave Me This Way', his latest performance work in progress, Franko B's body is presented naked and unpainted, seated on a raised plinth or altar. The audience is allowed time to look at his body, to approach it as a sculptural form. 'Don't Leave Me This Way' will continue his practical research into the politics of performance, in new and unexpected ways.
Franko B wearing garments produced from performance residue, 'I Miss You', 2000. Photo: Manuel Vason Franko B, objects. Photo: Manuel Vason Franko B, 'Oh Lover Boy', 2001. Photo: Manuel Vason

For access to the Franko B Archive, please contact Bex Carrington, Keeper: Live Art Archives on 0117 33 15186, or email: liveart-archives@bristol.ac.uk

Franko B, 'Mama I can't sing', 1995. Photo: Manuel VasonFranko B,'Oh Lover Boy' book cover, 2001. Cover photo: Manuel VasonFranko B, 'I Miss You', 2000. Photo: Manuel VasonFranko B, 'Aktion 398', 1998. Photo: Manuel VasonFranko B, 'Blinded by Love' book cover, 2007

LEGENDARY HEARTS


New book by Gabriele Tinti - Legendary Hearts
published by Damiani, Bologna 2009
http://exibart.com/notizia.asp/IDNotizia/27606/IDCategoria/1
http://damianieditore.com/catalogue/430

LONG LIVE ROMANCE - blog


LONG LIVE ROMANCE - International workshop in art and performance, Macerata, Marche, Italy, 29th April - 16th May 2009 (curated by Franko B)

I'M THINKING OF YOU


I'M THINKING OF YOU - Performance at Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea L. Pecci, Prato, Italy.
27th and 28th May 2009, part of  Contemporanea Colline  Festival.
http://www.contemporaneacolline.it/htm/speciali/franko.htm

LOVE IN TIMES OF PAIN - review


LOVE IN TIMES OF PAIN - solo show at Globe Gallery, Newcastle, 3rd April - 30th May 2009

"Since they tend to involve live, naked flesh, lone encounters and spilt blood, Franko B's performances are the thing he has become infamous for. Yet, still, he claims to be essentially a painter who occasionally works in performance. And, as we can see here, even his sculptural installations are imbued with a painter's aesthetic of visual fluidity. His paintings are nocturnal delineations of fine black outline on impenetrable black background. In a central installation here, titled Love In Times Of Pain, he uses the same black pigment to shroud in darkness a congregation of animal effigies (a squirrel, fox, turtle and birds) perched on darkened tables and pedestals. It's a 3am gathering of spooked nature - sad, pathetic and almost glorious."

- Robert Clark, The Guardian, Saturday 18 April 2009

VISIONS OF EXCESS - photos


Photos by Richard J Anderson
Photos by Mike Kear

VISIONS OF EXCESS was curated by Ron Athey and Lee Adams, featuring live performances from Franko B, Julie Tolentino, Bruce La Bruce, Kembra Pfahler, Suka Off, Kira O'Reilly, Dominic Johnson and Nicole Blackman plus video work by Genesis P Orridge, Peter Christopherson, SUPERM, Daniel Mckernan & Ritchie Rennt and Terence Koh

Easter Sunday 12th April 2009, 9pm - 9am
SHUNT Vaults, Joiner St. London

Presented as part of SPILL Festival of Performance

LONG LIVE ROMANCE - publicity

International workshop in Art and Performance, curated by Franko B, 29th April - 16th May 2009, Macerata, Marche, Italy.