John Smith: The Girl Chewing Gum

Videostill from John Smith, The Girl Chewing Gum, 1976, 16mm film transferred to HD, 12:00 min., black & white, sound. Courtesy of the artist

- selected by Tom McCarthy in the context of the exhibition Holding Pattern -

“The Girl Chewing Gum was made during a rich period of avant-garde practice in which many filmmakers, both in Britain and beyond, sought to dismantle the illusionist transparency of dominant cinema. Most of those invested in this project took up a focus on filmic materiality, refusing the possibility of a ‘window on the world’ in favour of a modernist concern with the cinematic apparatus. In The Girl Chewing Gum, Smith proceeded somewhat differently: his interest lay above all in interrogating the conventions that structured cinematic signification through a reflexive deployment of those very same conventions, rather than any out-and-out negation of them. The Girl Chewing Gum offers a playful yet trenchant exploration of the role that language – and particularly voiceover – plays in the production of filmic meaning and asserts the absolute impossibility of immediacy and neutrality. But despite its anti-illusionist criticality, the film remains deeply engaged with narrative and humour, two terms not often associated with British avant-garde cinema of the 1970s.” (Erika Balsom, “In Focus: The Girl Chewing Gum”, Tate Research Publication, 2015)

John Smith

John Smith (born London,1952) studied at North-East London Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art, after which he became an active member of the London Filmmakers' Co-op. Inspired in his formative years by conceptual art and structural film, he also became fascinated by the immersive power of narrative and the spoken word, forming the foundation for the diverse body of work that he has developed over the past five decades. Often rooted in everyday life and personal experience, Smith’s films playfully explore and expose the language of cinema, subverting the perceived boundaries between documentary, fiction, representation and abstraction.

John Smith has made over 60 film, video and installation works that have been shown in independent cinemas, museums and art galleries around the world. He has presented retrospectives of his films at film festivals in 16 countries. He received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Artists in 2011, and in 2013 he was the winner of the UK’s Jarman Award. His work is in the collections of Tate Gallery, Arts Council England, MoMA New York, FRAC Île de France, Paris; Kunstmuseum Magdeburg and Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz.