14/2/96 is a xerox print by artist Jeremy Deller, produced on the occasion of Printed Matter’s Imprint 93 exhibition. Deller’s text is derived from an iconic lyric by Morrissey/The Smiths (“I am human …”), commissioned by artist and curator Matthew Higgs in 1996 and published as a Valentine’s Day classified ad in The Guardian newspaper. The work is signed and numbered edition of 50, and printed on silver card stock. Imprint 93 was an archive exhibition focused on the 90s collaborative mail art project conceived and carried out by Higgs. This exhibition originated at the Whitechapel Gallery in 2016, and the Printed Matter presentation in 2018 marked the first US showing of the project in its entirety, including many rarely-seen works and related ephemera. 14/2/96 Courtesy of the artist, Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; and Art Concept, Paris.
Signed and Numbered
Conceptual artist Jeremy Deller (b. 1966 in London) work centers around questions of cultural virtuosity and access to monuments and public spaces. His installations manipulate social codes in order to foster the creative power of the public. Deller’s participatory work challenges notions of what is culturally and intellectually acceptable. Deller chooses to make collaborative, political work, often taking the form of installation or video, as a process of devaluing the individual artistic ego. Jeremy Deller’s work has been shown at the British Museum in London, the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Gavin Brown’s enterprise in New York City, Tate Modern, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and the Venice Biennale. Deller was awarded the Turner Prize in 2004 and an Albert Medal of the Royal Society for the encouragement of arts in 2010.
