Gregg Smith

‘How much information should a story provide before the spectator can project themselves into it?’ It was on the basis of this question that Gregg Smith (1970, Cape Town, South Africa) became the first artist to be selected in the framework of FLACC’s new operations. After studying at the University of Cape Town, Smith had a residence at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and later at the Fresnoy Studios at Tourcoing in France. He now lives and works in Paris. His work has recently been shown at the Dakar Biennale in Senegal, at the Gasworks Studios in London and at the film festival in Rotterdam. From April till the end of May he is be developing a new installation at FLACC, one which extends earlier experiments with video and performances in public space. This project, as with his previous work, takes as a starting point a scenario based on an ordinary personal dilemma. Smith then explores the medium of narrative with a view to personally implicating the spectator in the viewing process. This subtle boundary between spectator and narrative framework is at the heart of his work. The installation Smith is currently working on in Genk will be exhibited this July at ‘Le Plateau’, FRAC (Fonds régional d’art contemporain) Île de France, Paris (www.fracidf-leplateau.com).
More information about the artist and his work on www.greggsmith.co.za and www.veryrealtime.co.za.