Untitled

Banner employed lithography, a planographic print method that transfers ink from a stone or metal plate to paper. The black-and-white palette and sharp contrast between the figure and its shadow reflect a stark, graphic sensibility. The double-sided printing reinforces the work’s thematic duality, allowing viewers to encounter the image and text from either side, altering perception through physical interaction.

Created in 2014, this work is part of Banner’s ongoing series that interrogates the aesthetics of violence and narrative authority. While not tied to a specific exhibition history, it aligns with her broader body of work from the 2010s, which frequently integrates literary references and industrial imagery. The lithograph was produced in a limited edition, consistent with her practice of using reproducible media to challenge notions of originality.

Banner’s work emerges from a post-conceptual tradition that privileges language and materiality over spectacle. Her use of Conrad’s text situates this piece within a lineage of artists who revisit colonial literature to expose its enduring cultural residues. The figure’s anonymity and the wall’s texture contrast with the loudness of the quote, creating a dissonance between visual restraint and textual intensity.

This lithograph contributes to Banner’s sustained inquiry into how imagery and language shape collective memory. By embedding literary fragments within minimalist visual fields, she invites reflection on the persistence of historical narratives in contemporary consciousness. The work’s quiet form and layered references continue to influence artists exploring the intersection of text, print, and cultural critique.