Josef O'Connor

Josef O'Connor (born 20 January 1990) is a British-Irish artist and curator.

Life and work Josef O’Connor was born in 1990 in London, England. He sold his first painting at the age of 13. before dropping out at 18.

In 2007, O'Connor launched the digital art platform "Pollocks" in an attempt to challenge the traditional gallery model, by providing a virtual space for young creatives to upload and share their work online.

In 2008, starting with the re-appropriation of empty retail space on London's Carnaby Street, O’Connor invited members of the public to contribute to the evolution of "Blank Canvas". The performance ran for two weeks, with live musical performances from Laura Marling at The Barbican Centre in London. Once transformed, participants were invited to buy back the works, for the sum of money that they believed it was worth. Developing a concept in response to the elements of the Chinese Zodiac, O'Connor brought together a program that involved site-specific sculpture, performance and musical collaborations with William Orbit and Joe Rush. The project launched with O’Connor commissioning Creatmosphere to light up Brighton's iconic West Pier with 3D mapping and laser technology. The structure was illuminated by computer-controlled laser drawings to make it appear and disappear on the horizon. The image of the illuminated pier featured on the cover of the Evening Standard and Brighton and Hove Official Calendar, 2010.

In response to the 2010 General Election, O’Connor launched ‘Billbored’- a non-partisan viral art initiative that allowed the general public, artists and designers to submit a digital billboard artwork featuring their personal political slogans and manifestos for change. Designs were projected in a guerilla campaign onto famous London landmarks, including Big Ben, Tate Modern, St Paul's Cathedral and The Bank of England.

To commemorate Summer Solstice in 2010, O’Connor created a large-scale aerial sculpture that was architecturally constructed from over 5,000 helium balloons that were each illuminated by flashing L.E.D lights.

In 2012, O'Connor entered into the Gagosian Gallery's 'Spot Challenge'. Utilizing social media with the #AVERAGEJOE hashtag, he crowdfunded £10,000 in a week to fund a trip around the world and making a global community of 286 shareholders the unlikely winners of a Damien Hirst Spot Print. O’Connor's multidisciplinary artwork is currently being made into a film. The exterior of 'Worthless' by artist Josef O'Connor (2009) in London.

CIRCA In October 2020, expanding on themes of connectivity and possibility consistent within his practice, O'Connor launched CIRCA, a platform dedicated to showcasing digital art in the public sphere

After initially approaching the site owners, Landsec, via Twitter

In May 2021, O'Connor commissioned British artist David Hockney to create a digital artwork titled “Remember you cannot look at the sun or death for very long,” The work was shown on a global network of outdoor screens in London's Piccadilly Circus, Times Square in New York and Pendry West Hollywood in LA, Coex K-Pop Square (the largest LED screen in Korea), and Yunika Vision in Tokyo, Japan.

Recognition In 2012, O’Connor was selected as one of the Top 25 inspiring talents from London's 1000 most influential people list, in association with Burberry and the Evening Standard.

In 2013, O’Connor was publicly voted into The Guardians 100 most influential and innovative people working across arts, culture and the creative industries in the UK, alongside artists Jeremy Deller and Mike Nelson.

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