Omer Fast, 5000 Feet is the Best / 2011 / Digital Film Still / Courtesy of the artist
IWM Contemporary is a new programme of exhibitions and events by leading artists and photographers whose work is a response to war and conflict.
?“The launch of IWM Contemporary is an opportunity for visitors to engage with and question perspectives and preconceptions of contemporary conflict, through the works of contemporary artists and photographers. Covering subjects of warfare often not explored, IWM Contemporary will create an important dialogue about the way in which we view war and conflict, through the use of artistic interpretation.”
Diane Lees, Director General, IWM
Upcoming exhibitions within the programme include Omer Fast’s film 5000 Feet is the Best and Mike Moore and Lee Craker who will feature their contrasting styles in photographing US and UK soldiers in Iraq from 1991– 2012.
IWM Contemporary: Omer Fast 29th July – 29th September 2013 Free Admission
IWM Contemporary launches with the London Premiere of Omer Fast’s film 5000 Feet is the Best, offering a challenging exploration of the nature of contemporary conflict. 5000 Feet is the Best takes its name from the optimum operational flight altitude of a US Air Force Predator drone. Based on a series of interviews conducted in a Las Vegas hotel room, with a former drone operator, artist Omer Fast presents a 30-minute film on the subject of drone warfare.
Fast opens his film with an interview with the drone operator, as he recounts his combat experiences of flying over Afghanistan and Pakistan. Speaking mostly off-camera, the drone operator details the psychological impact of engaging an enemy from thousands of miles away. Switching between documentary interview footage and fictionalized re-enactments, Fast creates a multifaceted and unstable sense of reality. Combined with surreal shots of suburban Nevada, the film offers a subtle exploration of how the use of drones is rapidly changing the politics, principles and personal experience of contemporary conflict.
Fast’s critical perspective on the shifting nature of contemporary warfare, blurs the lines between fiction and reality, truth and memory, combat and everyday life, demonstrating the ethical complexity of one of the most hotly debated topics on the media agenda.
About Omer Fast
Artist Omer Fast (born 1972, Jerusalem), lives and works in Berlin and has had solo exhibitions at Musee d’art contemporain de Montreal (2013) The Power Plant, Toronto (2012) Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus (2012), Dallas Museum of Art (2012) Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2009), South London Gallery (2009) Museum of Modern Art, Vienna (2007).
Coming soon at IWM London Events
Artist Talk: Omer Fast 28 September 2013 2.00pm-3:30pm
Omer Fast’s film 5000 Feet is the Best, currently showing as part of IWM Contemporary, is a layered exploration of the controversial subject of drone warfare. Fast will discuss this recent work within the context of his wider practice which explores the relationship between individual and collective histories with a particular emphasis on contemporary conflict. Free Admission. Book online at iwm.org.uk Suitable for Adults.
IWM Contemporary
IWM Contemporary is a new programme of exhibitions and events by leading artists and photographers whose work is a response to war and conflict. Upcoming exhibitions within the programme include Omer Fast: In his film work 5000 Feet is the Best, Fast presents an exploration of how the use of drones is rapidly changing the politics, ethics and personal experience of contemporary conflict. Mike Moore and Lee Craker will feature their contrasting styles in photographing US and UK soldiers in Iraq from 1991– 2012.
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