Roman Signer: Slow Movement, Barbican

Outrageous and darling artist Roman Signer joins a distinguished line of creatives, including Walead Beshty, Damián Ortega and Jeppe Hein, who have been commissioned to produce work at The Curve, Barbican’s free exhibition space.

Whilst Signer has been a driving force in the European contemporary art scene for over thirty years. With his first solo presentation in a London public institution for over a decade, the Barbican exhibition is an ideal opportunity for art enthusiasts to acquaint themselves directly with his wacky works.

Roman Signer works and technique

Signer is best known for his video works, such as Piaggio on Jump (2002) in which he staged and filmed a Piaggio truck careering over a ski jump. You might also remember his works involving rockets and combustion, including Action with a Fuse (1989), when Signer burned a fuse along the railway line from the town of his birth to his current home – lasting 35 days. A common link between all of Signer’s works is the way in which he manipulates time into striking speeds or overstated slowness.

The Curve exhibition, Barbican 2015

Roman Signer Barbican commission Slow Movement sees him return to a favourite motif: the Kayak. A once avid Kayak enthusiast, Signer saw the 90-metre long space of The Curve as a tunnel, and had a vision of “a kayak being pulled through the space, turning on itself at the end and taking the same path back.” The result is a kayak suspended from the ceiling, which moves through the gallery by a rope, giving the viewer the sense that the kayak is moving through a canal.

Signer exploits the Barbican’s unique features by extending out into the foyer and lakeside, with two other kayaks installed in a manner typical of his irreverent style that will both surprise and delight. You’ll also be able to get a wider sense of his practice through the display of Signer’s earlier films featuring a kayak.

If you are looking for contemporary art in London, the Roman Signer kayaks will astound.

Suitable for children over 8 years old