Martin John Callanan

Martin John Callanan (born 1982, Birmingham) is a conceptual and performance artist working in London. He has lectured at the Slade School of Fine Art since 2008. Exhibitions include Casal Solleric, Spain, Whitechapel Gallery, London and Whitstable Biennale.

Well known artworks include, I Wanted to See All of the News From Today, a web based program collecting front covers of newspapers from around the world, won an Honorary mention (best online project) at Live 2011 Grand Prix (Finland), and a finalist for both File Prix Lux (Brazil) , and Screengrab 2010 Award, (Australia)

Callanan legally "changed" his name by deed poll in 2008 from Martin John Callanan to Martin John Callanan, and in 2012 from Martin John Callanan to Martin John Callanan.

The 2012 Whitstable Biennale commissioned Wars During my Lifetime, about which New Statesman wrote: "A simple idea with high impact is Wars During my Lifetime by Martin John Callanan, which lists on newsprint all the wars that have taken place during his lifetime.". A town crier proclaimed the list along the seafront.

For another artwork, he sent letters to several world leaders saying "I respect your authority" and published replies by figures including Hosni Mubarak; critic Jonathan Jones found the work humorous but struggled to find any point to it.

A Planetary Order (2012) combines satellite images to show the planet earth covered in clouds.