Artists and filmmakers working across installation, performance, sound, film and TV drama.
Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard met and began working collaboratively as students at Goldsmiths in the mid-nineties. Initially recognised for their recreations of cultural and art historical events and documents, their work has been exhibited around the world and is collected by museums and institutions including Tate at the British Government Art Collection.
Their first feature film ’20,000 Days on Earth’, featuring Nick Cave, premiered at Sundance film festival winning both directing and editing awards, as well as nominations from BAFTA and the Independent Spirit Awards. They have written and directed TV projects including ‘Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories’ and ‘The Dali & The Cooper’, both commissioned by Sky Arts. In 2015 Iain & Jane received the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director from the British Independent Film Awards.
You won't find more penetrative insights into music culture than in the work of Goldsmiths graduates Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard.
More recently, their gallery-based work has focussed on sound. Major audio works have included ‘Silent Sound’, a subliminal sound machine with a live score composed by J Spaceman (Spiritualized), and ‘Bish Bosch Ambisymphonic’, an 26 channel audio installation with Scott Walker, commissioned by Sydney Opera House. At Somerset House, they have exhibited the installation ‘Requiem for 114 Radios’ as part of ‘Daydreaming With Stanley Kubrick’, and ‘Somnoproxy’, and immersive bedtime story created for ’24/7: A Wake-Up Call For Our Non-Stop World’.
In 2012 Iain & Jane were nominated for the Samsung Art+ Prize and in 2014 shortlisted for the Jarman Award. A major retrospective of their work was presented at the South London Gallery in 2011. Art commissions include BBC Radio, the Great North Run, BFI Gallery and the City of Toronto, who commissioned their first major outdoor public work in 2011.
Iain and Jane’s work has been commissioned by institutions including the British Film Institute, BBC, Institute of Contemporary Arts and the City of Toronto. Performance and music culture continue to play a significant role in their work, leading to some notable collaborations including Jarvis Cocker, Warren Ellis and Gil Scott-Heron.
During their residency at Somerset House, Iain and Jane will develop ‘Multigraphs’, a major new series of photographic portraits using an obscure Victorian camera technique. They will experiment with creating performance pieces using the spaces around Somerset House, including ‘Doublethink’ created in the Rifle Range and featuring actor George MacKay. They will be working with Somerset House Studios on their artist mentoring programmes and supporting other Somerset House Trust projects.
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