LAUNCH EVENT (1972-2020)
With JOHN SMITH and JOCELYN POOK live in conversation
Triangles (1972, 3m. SD video from 16mm)
Smith’s first 16mm film comprises abstract animation punctuated by found footage, cut to music by The Velvet Underground.
7P (1978, 8m. SD video from 16m)
7P is constructed around the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, juxtaposing similar picture and sound fragments recorded on consecutive days over the Christmas period. When the seemingly predictable structure starts falling apart, nonsensical combinations of word and image begin to acquire their own unfathomable meanings.
Shine So Hard (1981, 32 mins. HD video from 16mm)
Commissioned by Warner Brothers Music.
“John Smith’s film matches conventional, excellently shot material of Echo and the Bunnymen live (from a specially arranged concert at Buxton Pavilion) with footage that attempts to locate the band in a context of more abstract imagery. Smith deliberately, and jokingly, allows the two sections to collide rather than attempting to blend them.”
- Steve Jenkins
Gargantuan (1992, 1m. HD video from 16mm)
“A gigantic reptile fills the frame as Smith begins to sing. The manipulative power of script and framing in film and video is sharply yet playfully highlighted in a single shot.”
- Helen Legg
Blight (1994-96, 14 mins. HD video from 16mm)
Blight revolves around the building of the M11 Link Road in East London, combining images and sounds of demolition and road building with the spoken words of local residents. Taking these actualities as its starting point, Blight exploits the ambiguities of its material to create its own metaphorical fictions. The emotive power of Jocelyn Pook’s music is used in the film to overtly aid this invention, investing mundane images with dramatic significance.
"A stunning montage depicts the destruction of a London street to make way for new roads. The rhythmic, emotive soundtrack is partly musical and partly a collage of the residents’ voices. Shots and sounds echo and cross-link in the film’s 14 minutes to reinvent a radical documentary tradition."
- A L Rees
Song for Europe (2017, 4 mins. HD video)
Inspired by a message for motorists on Eurotunnel trains, Song for Europe is an underwater celebration of Britain’s connection to the mainland.
The Camera, The Actor (2019, 5 mins. HD video)
An hommage to cinema, made to accompany Charles Hayward’s song of the same title.
Twice (2020, 3 mins. HD video)
Self-isolating at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, the artist follows the British government's advice.
TRT 69 mins
With JOHN SMITH and JOCELYN POOK live in conversation
Triangles (1972, 3m. SD video from 16mm)
Smith’s first 16mm film comprises abstract animation punctuated by found footage, cut to music by The Velvet Underground.
7P (1978, 8m. SD video from 16m)
7P is constructed around the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, juxtaposing similar picture and sound fragments recorded on consecutive days over the Christmas period. When the seemingly predictable structure starts falling apart, nonsensical combinations of word and image begin to acquire their own unfathomable meanings.
Shine So Hard (1981, 32 mins. HD video from 16mm)
Commissioned by Warner Brothers Music.
“John Smith’s film matches conventional, excellently shot material of Echo and the Bunnymen live (from a specially arranged concert at Buxton Pavilion) with footage that attempts to locate the band in a context of more abstract imagery. Smith deliberately, and jokingly, allows the two sections to collide rather than attempting to blend them.”
- Steve Jenkins
Gargantuan (1992, 1m. HD video from 16mm)
“A gigantic reptile fills the frame as Smith begins to sing. The manipulative power of script and framing in film and video is sharply yet playfully highlighted in a single shot.”
- Helen Legg
Blight (1994-96, 14 mins. HD video from 16mm)
Blight revolves around the building of the M11 Link Road in East London, combining images and sounds of demolition and road building with the spoken words of local residents. Taking these actualities as its starting point, Blight exploits the ambiguities of its material to create its own metaphorical fictions. The emotive power of Jocelyn Pook’s music is used in the film to overtly aid this invention, investing mundane images with dramatic significance.
"A stunning montage depicts the destruction of a London street to make way for new roads. The rhythmic, emotive soundtrack is partly musical and partly a collage of the residents’ voices. Shots and sounds echo and cross-link in the film’s 14 minutes to reinvent a radical documentary tradition."
- A L Rees
Song for Europe (2017, 4 mins. HD video)
Inspired by a message for motorists on Eurotunnel trains, Song for Europe is an underwater celebration of Britain’s connection to the mainland.
The Camera, The Actor (2019, 5 mins. HD video)
An hommage to cinema, made to accompany Charles Hayward’s song of the same title.
Twice (2020, 3 mins. HD video)
Self-isolating at home during the COVID-19 lockdown, the artist follows the British government's advice.
TRT 69 mins
