Gregg John Smith
Should we never meet again - Installation - 2005
presented as part of the exhibition Panorama 6
Installation
In this film we watch a man crossing the city, with a lot on his mind. He has had a bust-up at home and should better find another place to sleep for the night. The question is where. He chases around the city in search of solutions to his life’s problems. But the more he chases the more frustrated he becomes. He would like to blame everyone and everything for this uncomfortable and narrow life where all good opportunities seem to have been squandered.
There exists however another dimension to his life, which seeks to draw him in at the slightest chance. In his brief moments of rest or repose he is vulnerable to this dimension. If he waits just long enough, the transport is possible: He is swept in an instant to an interior where the noise and troubles of the city cannot reach him. There to pass a few quiet moments with innocent strangers who happened to be passing by in the street. In this dimension there are no boundaries or formalities, and there is no one to blame, they are simply available to each other for a brief time. Then they are returned to the streets and are alone again, they part as if never having noticed each other. The chase resumes.
The film is shot in the busy neighbourhoods of Barbes, Chateau Rouge and Gouttes D’or, in Paris and against the blue screen in Le Fresnoy.
Featuring: Mireille Abadi, Gerard Abela, Vincent Duviau and Manon Querel
Gregg John Smith
born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1970. As a boy he was a keen sportsman and birdwatcher. Later he made studies in Painting at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town and since then has moved through a range of performative, visual art and context specific projects. In 2001 he moved to Amsterdam to work at the Rijksakademie, and for the last 3 years he has been developing projects at Le Fresnoy. He is presently living and working in Paris and developing projects for Tel-Aviv, Nijmegen and Cape Town.
Production
Acknowledgments
Mireille Abadi, Gerard Abela, Vincent Duviau, Manon Querel
