John Smith | Programme of Short Films

A screening of films by artist John Smith.

CAST’s black-box screening space will re-open on Tuesday 4 August with a programme of short films by renowned British artist John Smith. The films will be screened on a loop, so you can drop by to see part or all of the programme, which will be shown throughout August, and during the first weeks of September.

‘Dad’s Stick’ (2012) is a tribute to Smith’s father, a reverie on the paint stick that he used over the years when decorating – each layer of paint recalling a particular phase in his domestic life. Smith’s often humorous films play with the traditions of narrative cinema and the boundaries between documentary, fiction and art. Many of his works focus on aspects of his immediate environment and everyday actions.

The programme includes his most recent film ‘Twice’ (2020). Filmed and released during lockdown this three minute film combines footage of Smith washing his hands in front of a mirror, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in a minor key, twice, with Boris Johnson’s advice to the public to contain the spread of coronavirus by doing exactly this.

Free admission, all welcome.