Bill Burns is a Canadian artist.
Bill Burns was born in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1957 and has lived and worked mostly in Toronto, Canada and London, England.
Proving Machine and Floatation Device no.3, 2008
His work consists mainly of sculpture, photographs, multiples and books. He studied under sculptors Mowry Baden and Roland Brenner at the University of Victoria in Canada and later under Gerard Hemsworth and John Latham at Goldsmiths College in London, England. He is known for his Safety Gear for Small Animals (SGSA) which was first shown at 303 Gallery in New York in 1994 [1] and later at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2005/2006 [2] and at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in 2008. Burns' miniature safety vests, work gloves, bullet-proof vests, U.V. goggles, respirators and triage tents exploit the conventions of traditional museum display and print-media marketing. His 2002 project "Everything I Could Buy on eBay About Malaria" which was shown at the Wellcome Trust in London, England is considered a seminal work in the area of electronic collecting. [3]
Burns has published numerous books including When Pain Strikes (Burns, Busby, Sawchuk), a critical anthology about pain and pain relief, published by the University of Minnesota Press in 1999. Other book titles include Analgesia (Rochefort,Montreal, 1993), How to Help Animals Escape from Degraded Habitats (Optica, Montreal, 1996) Urban Fauna Information Station (Mercer Union, Toronto, 2002), Safety Gear for Small Animals (MOCCA, Toronto and California State University, Fullerton, 2005) Bird Radio (Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther Koenig, Cologne, 2007) and The Flora and Fauna Information Service - 0.800.0.0FAUNA0FLORA (ICA, London, 2008). Burns has also published dozens of guides, posters, and editions. His editions are included in major museum collections throughout the world.
Burns' other works include, "Boilersuits for Primates" a collection of all the items that prisoners receive when they arrive at Guantanamo Bay and "How to Help Animals Escape from Natural History" a series of photographs depicting animals taking leave of natural history books.
Burns’ work has been exhibited in major museums and biennial exhibitions since the nineteen nineties. His most notable exhibitions include the ICA in London, the MoMA in New York as well as Forum Arte y Vida at the Havana Bienal in Havana, Cuba in 2003, the Bienal del Fin del Mundo in Ushuaia, Argentina in 2007 and the Quebec City Biennial - Manif d'art 5, in 2010.
Burns studied at Goldsmiths College at the University of London, England.
Safe: Design Takes on Risk, Antonelli, Paola et al., Museum of Modern Art, New York: 2005
Safety Gear for Small Animals (green version), Hurtig, Annette; Burns, Bill; Sloan, Johanne; Seaton, Beth, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and MOCCA, Toronto: 2005
0.800.0FAUNA0FLORA, Burns, Bill, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London: 2008
Bird Radio - Vogelradio, Burns, Bill, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener; KW - ICA, Berlin; Walther Koenig, Cologne: 2007
Everything I Could Buy on eBay about Malaria, Burns, Bill, Wellcome Trust, London: 2002
Safety Gear for Small Animals (red version), Burns, Bill, 303 Gallery, New York: 1994