John Smith Films

John Smith was born in London in 1952 and studied film at the Royal College of Art. Strongly influenced by the Structural Materialist ideas which dominated British artists’ filmmaking during his formative years, but also fascinated by the immersive power of narrative and the spoken word, he has developed a body of work which deftly subverts the perceived boundaries between documentary and fiction, representation and abstraction. Drawing upon the raw material of everyday life, Smith's meticulously crafted films rework and transform reality, playfully exploring and exposing the language of cinema.

Since 1972 John Smith has made over forty film, video and installation works that have been shown in cinemas, art galleries and on television throughout the world and awarded major prizes at many international film festivals. His solo exhibitions include Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (2006), Kunstmuseum Magdeburg (2005), Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool (2003) and Pearl Gallery, London (2003). He regularly presents his work in person and in recent years it has been profiled through retrospectives at the 2007 Venice Biennale and film festivals in Oberhausen, Cork, Tampere, Uppsala, Bristol, Regensburg, Glasgow and La Rochelle.

John Smith lives and works in London. He teaches part-time at the University of East London where he is Professor of Fine Art.

Triangles 1972, 3 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Someone Moving 1972, 5 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
The Hut 1973, 5 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Words (collaboration with Lis Rhodes) 1973, 7 mins, 16mm, B/W, sound.
Out the Back 1974, 5 mins, Super 8mm, colour, silent.
William and the Cows 1974, 6 mins, 16mm, colour, silent.
Faces 1 1974, 11 mins, 16mm, B/W, silent.
Faces 2 1974, 3 mins, 16mm, B/W, silent.
Associations 1975, 7 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Leading Light 1975, 11 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Nine Short Stories 1975, 3 mins, 16mm, B/W, silent.
Subjective Tick-Tocks 1975, 11 mins, 16mm, B/W, sound.
The Girl Chewing Gum 1976, 12 mins, 16mm, B/W, sound.
Summer Diary 1976-7, 30 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Hackney Marshes - November 4th 1977 1977, 15 mins, 16mm, colour, silent.
Gardner 1977, 6 mins, video from 16mm, colour, sound.
Hackney Marshes (TV version) 1978, 30 mins, video from 16mm, colour, sound.
7P 1978, 7 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Blue Bathroom 1979, 14 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Celestial Navigation 1980, 10 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Spring Tree 1980, 3 mins, 16mm, colour, silent.
Shine So Hard 1981, 32 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Light Sleep 1981, 6 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Shepherd's Delight 1980-4, 35 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Om 1986, 4 mins, 16mm, colour, colour, sound.
The Black Tower 1985-7, 24 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Dungeness (3 films for theatre production by Graeme Miller) 1987, 12 mins, 16mm, colour, silent.
Slow Glass 1988-91, 40 mins, 16mm, colour, sound.
Gargantuan 1992, 1 min, 16mm, colour, sound.
Home Suite 1993-4, 96 mins, video, colour, sound.
Blight 1996, 14 mins, video from 16mm, colour, sound.
The Kiss (collaboration with Ian Bourn) 1999, 5 mins, video from 16mm, colour, sound.
The Waste Land 1999, 5 mins, video, colour, sound.
Regression 1999, 17 mins, video, colour, sound.
Lost Sound (collaboration with Graeme Miller) 1998-2001, 28 mins, video, colour, sound.
Frozen War (Hotel Diaries 1) 2001, 11 mins, video, colour, sound.
Worst Case Scenario 2001-3, 18 mins, video from 35mm, colour & B/W, sound.
Museum Piece (Hotel Diaries 2) 2004, 12 mins, video, colour, sound.
Throwing Stones (Hotel Diaries 3) 2004, 11 mins, video, colour, sound.
B & B (Hotel Diaries 4) 2005, 6 mins, video, colour, sound.
Pyramids / Skunk (Hotel Diaries 5/6) 2006/7, 17 mins, video, colour, sound. Dirty Pictures (Hotel Diaries 7) 2007, 14 mins, video, colour, sound.
Six Years Later (Hotel Diaries 8) 2007, 9 mins, video, colour, sound.

The Kiss (collaboration with Ian Bourn) 1999, DVD loop for 2 suspended projectors and etched glass screens, colour, sound.
Rebus 2001, DVD loop for single monitor, colour, silent.
Beside the A-Side (collaboration with Graeme Miller) 2002, DVD loop for 2 projectors and suspended screen, colour, sound.