Explore the response of artists to warfare and its consequences since 9/11 in the largest exhibition of its kind in the UK.

The terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001 forced a radical reassessment of contemporary conflict and the impact of global politics. Analysis and coverage of subsequent events, and discussion of the complex issues of this new era, has largely played out in the mainstream media. This is the first major exhibition in the UK devoted to the response of artists, highlighting the importance of art as an alternative means of examining and understanding modern warfare.

On display are 50 works of art including film, sculpture, painting, installations, photography and prints, bringing together the varying perspectives of more than 40 artists. Many exhibits are being shown in the UK for the first time.

The exhibition is organised into four themes, exploring 9/11 itself, the resultant controversy over state surveillance and security, our relationship with weaponry and other tools of war, and the devastation inflicted on people and the environment. It is the first opportunity in the UK to see The Twin Towers (2011) by Iván Navarro, an illusion of infinite space within the shapes of the buildings created by mirrored glass and neon. Meanwhile, Ai Weiwei’s Surveillance Camera with Marble Stand (2015) powerfully recreates CCTV apparatus in monumental marble. 

Other artists showing include Grayson Perry, Mona Hatoum, Jitish Kallat, Coco Fusco and Jamal Penjweny. There is also a specially presented site-specific installation, Drone Shadow Predator, by James Bridle.