Haroon Mirza, year zero (Online Screening)

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Ikon premieres year zero (2020), a new audiovisual artwork by British artist Haroon Mirza.

Launching on Wednesday 16 December 2020 at 8pm via Ikon Gallery's YouTube account, year zero is a new commission by Ikon, with Art Fund support. The work is part of Mirza's 'modular opera' series, composed by him and realised in collaboration with musicians, a singer and designer. Produced during the COVID-19 lockdown, it is inspired by the widely circulated smartphone footage of Italians singing from their balconies and windows at the start of the pandemic, their small but rousing balcony performances capturing a collective sense of optimism and unity.


Part recital, part voice experiment, year zero is performed by vocalist Sarah-Jane Lewis and accompanied by an electronic score performed by musician Jack Jelfs. Among other elements, the work also features a performance by Alessandro Ravasio, a musician based in Bergamo, the Italian city most severely impacted by the first-wave of the pandemic.

The central element of the work documents an evening performance by Lewis in the residential courtyard where Mirza's studio is located. This recital was programmed by Mirza's studio (hrm199) for his neighbours in the building during the UK's second national lockdown in November 2020. Filmed by both Mirza and audience members from neighbouring apartments, the footage focuses on Lewis who wears a costume of gold lamé and electric blue body paint designed by Osman Yousefzada for a previous performance at the Lahore Biennale 2020.