Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

artists and filmmakers.

Life and work

Forsyth and Pollard met and began working collaboratively while studying Fine Art and Art Theory at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

, graduating together in 1995. They initially focused on live performance events, but since 2003 their work has been predominantly film and video based. They returned to Goldsmiths in 2002, receiving an MA degree in Fine Art in 2004. They have restaged

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's farewell performance as Ziggy Stardust, a 1973 video work by

Vito Acconci Vito Acconci (, ; January 24, 1940 – April 27, 2017) was an influential American performance, video and installation artist, whose diverse practice eventually included sculpture, architectural design, and landscape design. His foundational p ...

(working with rap artist

Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B En ...

) and a 1968 work by

Bruce Nauman Bruce Nauman (born December 6, 1941) is an American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives near Galisteo, New Mexico. Life and work ...

. In 2003 the artists recreated the 1978

Cramps A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction or overshortening associated with electrical activity; while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the aff ...

performance at the Napa Mental Institute at the ICA in a work entitled ''File under Sacred Music''. The work caused some controversy by including an audience of patients undergoing psychiatric care. The musicians were assembled by Forsyth and Pollard for the project and included Alfonso Pinto from

The Parkinsons John and Donald Parkinson were a father-and-son architectural firm operating in the Los Angeles area in the early 20th century. They designed and built many of the city's iconic buildings, including Grand Central Market, the Memorial Colise ...

Lux Interior Erick Lee Purkhiser (October 21, 1946 – February 4, 2009), better known by the stage name Lux Interior, was an American singer and a founding member of the American rock band the Cramps from 1972 until his death in 2009 at age 62. Early life B ...

, Holly Golightly as Poison Ivy, former Headcoat Bruce Brand as

Bryan Gregory Bryan Gregory (Gregory Beckerleg, February 20, 1951 – January 10, 2001) was an American rock musician, and founding member of and guitarist for The Cramps. Biography Gregory took the name Bryan after Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones, of ...

and John Gibbs as longtime Cramps drummer

Nick Knox Nick Knox (born Nicholas George Stephanoff; March 26, 1953 – June 14, 2018) was an American drummer for the psychobilly band The Cramps. He replaced Miriam Linna in 1977 and left in 1991. Knox was with The Cramps during the peak of their world ...

. ''Silent Sound'', featuring an original score by J. Spaceman, was presented at the 2006

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Every two years, the city of Liverpool hosts an extensive range of artworks, projects, and a programme of events. The biennial commissions leading ...

. The piece was originally presented as a live performance that took place in the Small Concert Hall at St. George's Hall, Liverpool. It was based, in part, on the public séance act performed by Victorian entertainers The Davenport Brothers. During the performance the artists were seated on-stage inside a soundproof booth based on the Davenport's "Spirit Cabinet". Together they recited a single phrase into a microphone, which was fed into a machine they had created that claimed to embed the phrase as a

subliminal message Subliminal stimuli (; the prefix ' literally means "below" or "less than") are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold for conscious perception, in contrast to stimuli (above threshold). A 2012 review of functional magnetic resonance ...

into the music, which was performed live by a small orchestra. The Davenport Brothers had performed their act on the same stage in 1865. The performance was introduced by Ciarán O'Keeffe, a British parapsychologist who became famous after appearing as the resident skeptic on the paranormal television series

Most Haunted ''Most Haunted'' is a British paranormal reality television series. Following complaints, the broadcast regulator, Ofcom, ruled that it was an entertainment show, not a legitimate investigation into the paranormal, and "should not be taken seri ...

. An installation of "Silent Sound" was then presented by A Foundation at Greenland Street, Liverpool. An ambisonic recording of the live performance was incorporated into a large-scale immersive installation, created in consultation with acousticians from Arup. The installation was recreated inside a shipping container in 2008 for

Art Basel Miami Beach Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...

where it was described by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

as "one of the fair's biggest word-of-mouth hits". In 2010 Silent Sound was re-presented as part of the

AV Festival AV Festival is an international festival of contemporary art, film and music, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. A biennial event, the Festival is thematically curated across contemporary artistic practice and wider society. History AV Festival 2014 ...

at Middlesbrough Town Hall. Begun while at college, their first project together was publishing " Words & Pictures" - an art magazine in a box.
Published three times per year from May 1994 until November 1997 each issue collected together objects made by 20 different artists into an A5 sized cardboard box, produced in a signed and numbered limited edition of 100 copies. A printed booklet was included that contained information on the contributors as well as a specially commissioned preface and introductory text. The first issue was launched at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

in London, with a preface by Scottish singer/songwriter

Momus Momus (; Ancient Greek: Μῶμος ''Momos'') in Greek mythology was the personification of satire and mockery, two stories about whom figure among Aesop's Fables. During the Renaissance, several literary works used him as a mouthpiece for their ...

and an introduction by artist and writer

Liam Gillick Liam Gillick (born 1964, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) is a British artist who lives and works in New York City.

. Artists contributing to the project included

Martin Creed Martin Creed (born 21 October 1968) is a British artist, composer and performer. He won the Turner Prize in 2001 for exhibitions during the preceding year, with the jury praising his audacity for exhibiting a single installation, '' Work No. 2 ...

Jeremy Deller Jeremy Deller (born 30 March 1966) is an English people, English conceptual, video and installation artist. Much of Deller's work is Collaboration, collaborative; it has a strong political aspect, in the subjects dealt with and also the Idealiz ...

Matthew Higgs Matthew Higgs (born 1964) is an English artist, curator, writer and publisher. His contribution to UK contemporary art has included the creation of ''Imprint 93'', a series of artists’ editions featuring the work of artists such as Martin Creed ...

Bob and Roberta Smith Patrick Brill (born 1963), better known by his pseudonym Bob and Roberta Smith, is a British contemporary artist, writer, author, musician, art education advocate, and keynote speaker. He is known for his "slogan" art, is an associate professor ...

Georgina Starr Georgina Starr (born 1968) is an English artist and one of the Young British Artists. She is best known for her video, sound, performance and installation works. Starr's work has been described in Artforum magazine as exploring "the imaginative s ...

and

David Shrigley David John Shrigley (born 17 September 1968) is a British visual artist. He lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England in 2015. Early life and education Shrigley was born 17 September 1968 in Macclesfi ...

. Writers for the project included

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...

Angus Fairhurst Angus Fairhurst (4 October 1966 – 29 March 2008) was an English artist working in installation, photography and video. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs). Life and work Angus Fairhurst was born in Pembury, Kent. Having attended ...

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...

, Jake Chapman,

and Joshua Compston. Forsyth and Pollard ended the project after 10 issues, citing the influence of the British indie band

Felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

who released ten albums in ten years and then disbanded. In 2008 they directed the promo videos for the

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and pres ...

singles

Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! ''Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!'' is the fourteenth studio album by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was recorded in June and July 2007 at The State of the Ark Studios in Richmond, London and mixed by Nick Launay at British ...

, " More News From Nowhere" and " Midnight Man". They have also worked with

on a series of films relating to each of the 14 studio albums produced by the band. Collectively titled "Do you love me like I love you" each film will feature on a DVD accompanying the album it relates to as part of the remastered Collector's Editions released by

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

throughout 2009. Continuing their association with

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

, the duo produced and sound-directed the audiobook for his novel

The Death of Bunny Munro ''The Death of Bunny Munro'' is a 2009 novel written by Nick Cave, best known as the lead singer of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It is his second and most recent novel, the first being '' And the Ass Saw the Angel'', published in 1989. Syno ...

, working with the acoustics department at Arup to produce a spatialized binaural mix which creates a 3D effect when played on headphones. It was published by

Canongate Books Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prizewinner ''Life of Pi''. Canongate was n ...

in September 2009. Occasionally directing music videos for other artists, they have also worked with

The Veils The Veils are an English/New Zealand indie rock band fronted by singer and songwriter Finn Andrews. History Early years, ''The Runaway Found'' (2001–2004) Finn Andrews was born in London but spent his teenage years at high school in Auc ...

Fanfarlo Fanfarlo are a London-based indie/alternative band formed in 2006 by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar. They fuse elements of folk, indie rock and post-punk using eclectic instrumentation including trumpet, violin, mandolin, musical saw, clari ...

Tindersticks Tindersticks are an English alternative rock band formed in Nottingham in 1991. They released six albums before singer Stuart A. Staples embarked on a solo career. The band reunited briefly in 2006 and more permanently the following year. Th ...

, Scott Walker and

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

. In 2009 they were commissioned by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

to produce a new work for the

BFI Gallery The BFI Gallery was the BFI's contemporary art gallery dedicated to artists' moving image housed within BFI Southbank, the British Film Institute's flagship venue in London (previously known as the National Film Theatre). The space was funded by th ...

(the contemporary art space at

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

) called "Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work" a multi-screen 3D video installation featuring

Kevin Eldon Kevin Eldon (born 2 October 1959) is an English actor and comedian. He featured in British comedy television shows of the 1990s including ''Fist of Fun'', '' This Morning with Richard Not Judy'', '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge' ...

Caroline Catz Caroline Catz (born Caroline Caplan; 19 October 1970) is an English film, television and theatre actress and narrator. She is best known for her role as Louisa Glasson in ''Doc Martin'' since 2004. Her other major roles have included Detective ...

Terrence Hardiman Terrence Hardiman (born 6 April 1937)Biographical detail

Fenella Fielding Fenella Fielding, OBE (born Fenella Marion Feldman; 17 November 1927 – 11 September 2018) was an English stage, film and television actress who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, and was often referred to as "England's first lad ...

with Martians played by

Ben Crompton Benjamin Lorton Crompton (born 1974) is an English actor and standup comedian, best known for his performance on the BBC sketch show ''Man Stroke Woman'' and as Colin in the BBC Three sitcom ''Ideal''. From 2012 to 2019, Crompton portrayed Eddi ...

Iain Lee Iain Lee (born Iain Lee Rougvie; 9 June 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer, and former television presenter and stand-up comedian who hosts the phone-in talk show '' The Late Night Alternative'' on "pay to view" Patreon. Lee's career began ...

and Ben Moor. The project was curated by Elisabetta Fabrizi, who invited the artists to access the

BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955, its name became the N ...

of film and television, the largest of its kind in the world, to create a new commission. Their first major survey show was presented by the

South London Gallery The South London Gallery, founded 1891, is a public-funded gallery of contemporary art in Camberwell, London. Until 1992, it was known as the South London Art Gallery, and nowadays the acronym SLG is often used. Margot Heller became its direct ...

in February–March 2011. In January 2012 they were nominated for the Samsung Art+ Prize. Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are currently represented by Kate MacGarry (London). They have previously worked with Lawrence Eng Gallery (Vancouver) and Galleria Paolo Bonzano (Rome). They are represented as filmmakers by Josh Varney a
42
Their first feature film was announced by

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, it ...

. The hybrid drama-documentary titled 20,000 Days on Earth focusses on the musician and writer

, and is backed by

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

and Corniche Pictures. The film is produced by Pulse Films and JW Films and cinematography is by Erik Wilson (Submarine, Tyrannosaur, The Imposter, The Double). An interview in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

with the directors revealed that the film will also star

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

and

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

. Forsyth & Pollard won the Directing Award at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

in January 2014, where the film premiered. The Editing Award was also presented to Jonathan Amos for 20,000 Days on Earth. The European premiere was in February 2014 at

Berlinale The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

in Berlin. A theatrical release took place in September 2014 by Picturehouse in the UK, Drafthouse in the US and Madman in Australia. In 2014 they were shortlisted for the Jarman Award and were awarded a Channel 4 Random Acts Commission. Forsyth and Pollard were presented with the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director at the 2014 Moët

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

. They have also been BAFTA nominated for Best Documentary and shortlisted for the London Film Critic's Circle Award.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Collections

Public collections include: *

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

Arts Council Collection The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...

* Zabludowicz Collection *

Government Art Collection The Government Art Collection (GAC) is the collection of artworks owned by the UK government and administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The GAC's artworks are used to decorate major government buildings in t ...

*Musée d’art moderne Grand-Duc Jean Luxembourg (

Mudam The Grand Duke Jean Museum of Modern Art (french: Musée d'art moderne Grand-Duc Jean), abbreviated to Mudam, is a museum of modern art in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The museum stands on the site of the old Fort Thüngen, on the so ...

) *

Museum De Hallen, Haarlem Frans Hals Museum - Hal (until March 29 2018: ''De Hallen Haarlem'') is one of the two locations of the Frans Hals Museum, located on the Grote Markt, Haarlem, Netherlands, where modern and contemporary art is on display in alternating presentatio ...

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions *2013 ''Bish Bosch: Ambisymphonic (with Scott Walker)'', Sydney Opera House *2013 ''Jumpers (What must I do to be saved)'', Live at LICA, Lancaster *2011 ''Audience/Performer'', Lighthouse, Brighton *2011 ''New Work'', Kate MacGarry, London *2011 ''Romeo Echo Delta'', FACT Liverpool and BBC Radio Merseyside *2011 ''Soon'', Nuit Blanche, Toronto *2011 ''PUBLICSFEAR'', South London Gallery, London *2010 ''Silent Sound'', AV Festival, Middlesbrough *2009 ''Radio Mania: An Abandoned Work'', BFI Gallery, London (curated by Elisabetta Fabrizi) *2009 ''Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard'', Void Gallery, Derry *2009 ''Performer. Audience. Fuck Off.'', Site Gallery, Sheffield (performed by

) *2008 ''Run For Me'', Great North Run Moving Image Commission, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead *2008 ''Walking Over Acconci (Misdirected Reproaches)'', Kate MacGarry, London *2008 "Run For Me" Artprojx at Prince Charles Cinema, London (introduced by

Andrew Graham-Dixon Andrew Michael Graham-Dixon (born 26 December 1960) is a British art historian and broadcaster. Life and career Early life and education Andrew Graham-Dixon is a son of the barrister Anthony Philip Graham-Dixon (1929–2012), Q.C., and (M ...

) *2008 "Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard", Lawrence Eng, Vancouver *2007 ''Silent Sound'', Art Basel Miami Beach/ Art Positions *2007 ''Grain - an exploration of contemporary landscape using sound'', Grain Power Station, Isle of Grain, Kent *2007 ''The 24 seven'', Milton Keynes Gallery Project *2007 ''Precious Little'', Moving Image Centre Toi Rerehiko, Auckland, New Zealand, touring to The Physics Room, Christchurch *2007 ''The Weasel: Pop Music and Contemporary Art'', South London Gallery *2007 ''Kiss My Nauman'', Jarvis Cocker’s Meltdown, Southbank Centre, London *2006 ''Silent Sound'', A Foundation/Greenland Street, Liverpool *2006 ''In Brief'', Jerwood Space, London *2005 ''Anyone else isn't you'', George Rodger Gallery, Maidstone *2005 ''Walking After Acconci (Redirected Approaches)'', Kate MacGarry, London *2005 ''Anyone else isn't you'', The Hospital, Covent Garden, London *2004 ''Everybody else is wrong'', Pavilion, Montreal, Canada *2003 ''File under Sacred Music'', Institute of Contemporary Arts, London *1998 ''A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide'', Institute of Contemporary Arts, London *1998 ''The kids are alright'', Institute of Contemporary Arts, London *1997 ''The Smiths is dead'', Institute of Contemporary Arts, London *1997 ''Doing it for the Kids'', Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool *1996 ''The World Won't Listen'', 30 Underwood Street, London

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forsyth, Iain Art duos Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London English installation artists British video artists Women video artists Living people British performance artists English music video directors 1972 births 1973 births People from Bolton People from Gateshead Filmmaking duos English contemporary artists