Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard. London, June 2006 [photo: Alison Wonderland]

Introduction to Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard

Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard began working collaboratively at Goldsmiths, graduating together in 1995. They are perhaps best known as artists who create re-enactments of cultural and art historical events and documents. Theirs is an enquiryinto the mechanics of liveness, repetition, reception and recollection. By adapting ready-made events, Forsyth and Pollard exploit their audiences' sense of recognition, allowing them to be swept up in an emotional response before inducing reflection on the shades of complicity between themselves, the performers and the artists pulling the strings.

They have pioneered the understanding of re-enactment within contemporary visual art, from The World Won't Listen, their first 'ready-made' live project in 1996 to their 1998 critically acclaimed complete re-enactment, A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide, re-staging David Bowie's final performance as Ziggy Stardust 25 years after the original event. More recently their film File under Sacred Music recreated a legendary performance by The Cramps at Napa Mental Institute. They have the timing and insight to key into the wider cultural concerns of society. Their universal yet personal strategies play out ideas of memory, performance and the mediated image in a challenging and highly accessible way.

In 2005 Forsyth and Pollard produced Walking After Acconci (Redirected Approaches), re-working Vito Acconci's Walk-Over (1973). They worked closely with Plan B, a young MC, to update the script and re-shoot the video liberally adopting the style and aesthetic of urban music video. In 2007 for Jarvis Cocker's Meltdown Festival they recreated Bruce Nauman's Art Make-up (1968) replacing Nauman with Dressed To Kill, the word's longest running Kiss tribute band.

One of their most ambitious projects to date is Silent Sound, commissioned by A Foundation and presented in Liverpool during the 2006 biennial. Forsyth and Pollard staged a uniquely emotive experience, drawing on psychological research, to explore the mind's susceptibility to subliminal suggestion. The work features an original score by Jason Pierce from the band Spiritualized and was recently re-presented at Art Basel Miami Beach where the New York Times described it as "one of the fair’s biggest word-of-mouth hits". They currently working on a number of projects with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, including a promo video for the single "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!"

Iain born in Manchester UK, 1973
Jane born in Newcastle UK, 1972

Met and studied together in London, UK
BA Fine Art & Art Theory - Goldsmiths College, 1992 – 95
MA Fine Art – Goldsmiths College, 2002 - 04

Live and work in London, UK

ain Forsyth & Jane Pollard are represented by Kate MacGarry.

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Selected Solo Exhibitions and Live Art Projects

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Canada. October 2008

Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Kate MacGarry, September 2008

Run For Me
Baltic, Gateshead Serptember 2008

Silent Sound
Art Positions at Art Basel Miami Beach December 2007

The 24 seven
Milton Keynes Gallery Project Space December 2007

Precious Little
MIC Toi Rerehiko, Auckland, New Zealand
touring toPhysics Room, Christchurch, New Zealand 2007

Kiss My Nauman
Jarvis Cocker's Meltdown, Southbank Centre, London 2007

Silent Sound - A Foundation
Greenland Street, Liverpool. September - November 2006

In Brief
Jerwood Space, London. May - July 2006

Anyone else isn't you
George Rodger Gallery, Maidstone. October - December 2005

Walking After Acconci (Redirected Approaches)
Kate MacGarry, London. September - October 2005

Anyone else isn't you
The Hospital, Covent Garden, London. June – July 2005

Everybody else is wrong
Pavilion, Montreal, Canada. January - February 2004

File under Sacred Music
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. 3 March 2003

A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. 2 and 3 July 1998

The kids are alright
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. 20 March 1998

The Smiths is dead
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. 1 August 1997

Doing it for the Kids
Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool. 12 April 1997

The World Won't Listen
30 Underwood Street, London. 22 November 1996

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Selected Group Exhibitions

Past Forward
176 Project Space, London 2008

I desired what you were, I need what you are
Maze, Turin, Italy 2008

Call & Response
MUDAM, Luxemborug 2008

Popshop
MU, Eindhoven, Netherlands 2008

History Will Repeat Itself: Strategies of Reenactment in Contemporary (Media) Art and Performance
HMKV, Dortmund, June - September 2007
Touring to: KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin, October 2007 - January 2008

Just Play
Edith Russ Site for Media Art, Oldenburg 2008

Volume(s)
Casino Luxembourg, Luxembourg 2008

Medium Cool
Art in General, New York USA 2008

Unpacking the Archive
1:1 Projects, Rome, Italy 2008

Nick Cave - The Exhibition
The Arts Centre, Melbourne 2007-08

Amass
Boots Contemporary Space, Missouri USA 2007

Grain
Isle of Grain, Kent 2007

ASecond Life
Stadtgalerie, Bern, Switzerland 2007

Communism of Forms
Vermelho Gallery, Brazil 2007

The Weasel
South London Gallery, London 2007

Overtake
Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork 2007

Harry Smith Anthology Remixed
Alt.Gallery, Newcastle. May - June 2007

...Ma come mai?
Galleria Paolo Bonzano, Rome. February 2007

Depiction Perversion Repulsion Obsession Subversion
International Film Festival Rotterdam. January 2007

neo:con - Contemporary Returns To Conceptual Art
The British School at Rome. October - November 2006

Love & Anarchy
K3 Project Space, Zurich. October - November 2006

Street: behind the cliche
Witte de With, Rotterdam. September - November 2006

neo:con - Contemporary Returns To Conceptual Art
Apex Art, New York. September - October 2006

Switch on the Power! Noise and Policies on Music
MARCO, Museum of Contemporary Art Vigo
9 June - 17 September 2006
Touring to: CAAM, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas
17 October 2006 - 7 January 2007
Centro Cultural Montehermoso, Vitoria
2 February - 22 April 2007

Black: Implication Flooding
Colony, Birmingham. April-May 2006

Change My Life
Noyes Gallery, Yellow Springs, Ohio. April 2006
Touring to: Herndon Gallery, Yellow Springs, Ohio. April 2006

Metropolis Rise: New Art from London
CQL Design Center, Shanghai, China. April 2006
Touring to: Dashanzi 798 Space, Beijing, China. April-May 2006

Music for People
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Scotland. February - March 2006

iPod killed the Video Star
Showroom MAMA, Rotterdam. February - April 2006

Surfing the Surface
Galleria Paolo Bonzano, Rome. February - March 2006

Change My Life
The Horsebridge Centre, Whitstable. January - February 2006

Cinecity, Brighton Film Festival. Introduced by Michael Connor
Brighton Fringe Basement, Brighton. December 2005

Video London
Espai Ubú, Barcelona. November - December 2005

Rhythm-A-Ning
Context Galleries, Derry. July 2005

Biennale!
Dashanzi International Art Festival, Beijing and touring to Shanghai, Kunming and Canton. 2005-06

Rhythm-A-Ning
Walton's Music School, Dublin. April 2005

Biennale!
Temporarycontemporary, London. January – February 2005

Film Festival Rotterdam
Witte de With Artcentre, Rotterdam. January – February 2005

18e Rencontres Parraléles
Centre d'Art Contemporain de Basse-Normandie. November 2004

VIPER Festival
Basel. November 2004

Vinyl 2
Redux, London. August - September 2004

Yugoslav Biennial 2004
Vrsac, Serbia & Montenegro. June - July 2004

From Here to Eternity (and back again)
Generator Projects, Dundee. June - July 2004

Faraway So Close
BARD Center For Curatorial Studies Museum, New York. May 2004

This Much Is Certain
RCA, London. March – April 2004

Artists Films About Music Culture
NFT, London. February 2004

File under Sacred Music
Roadmender, Northampton. December 2003

File under Sacred Music
Schaufenster, Oslo. November 2003

Charade
Impressions Gallery, York. October - December 2003

Fucked up lover
Independent Georgia, Atlanta USA. October 2003

Bootleg
Spitalfields Market, London. July 2003

We're Coming To Take You Away, Hurrah!!
ICA, London. June 2003

Shooting Live Artists
Site Gallery, Sheffield. March - May 2003

Modern Love in Düsseldorf and London
hobbypopMUSEUM, Düsseldorf. June 2001
Touring to: VTO, London. November - December 2001

Century City
Tate Modern, London. February - April 2001

Kill Yr Idols
Laure Genillard Gallery, London. July 1999

Host
Tramway, Glasgow. April - May 1998

Double Life
The Waiting Room, Wolverhampton. November - December 1997

Victoria
Laurent Delaye, London. September 1997

Beck's New Contemporaries '97
Cornerhouse, Manchester, Camden Arts Centre, London and CCA, Glasgow 1997. Selected by Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Sarat Maharaj and Gillian Wearing. May 1997 - January 1998

Life/Live
Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris and Centro Cultural de Belém October 1996 - May 1997

Yerself is Steam
85 Charlotte Street, London. Curated by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard. July - August 1996

The Hanging Picnic
Hoxton Square, London. Curated by Joshua Compston (Factual Nonsense). 8 July 1995

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Selected Videography

Walk With Nauman, DVD, 5 mins. 2006
Walking After Acconci, DVD with sound, 22 mins. 2005
Anyone else isn't you, DVD with sound, 30 mins. 2005
Everybody else is wrong, DVD with sound, 34 mins. 2004
File under Sacred Music, DVD with sound, 22 mins. 2003
Fucked up lover, DVD with sound, 30 mins. 2001
A Japanese Dream, VHS with sound, 7 mins. 1998
Damaged, VHS with sound, 10 mins. 1997
Made in England, VHS with sound, 4 mins. 1997
The The Jesus & Mary Chain, VHS with sound, 30 mins. 1995
Chain Smoker, Tap Dancer, 2 channel VHS with sound, 20 mins. 1995

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Editions, Muiltiples and Special Projects

Liverpool Art Tripper
Series of Podcasts commissioned by the BBC. 2006-2007

Silent Sound CD
Live instant CD recording of performance. Editon of 1,000. 2006

I thought about you the whole time
Project for W-Art magazine, issue 8. 2006

Tripping with an iPod for the time being
Project for /Seconds, issue 2. 2006

A Tape for Jane
Project for Slimvolume, issue 1. 2001

Project for Everything
Project for Everything magazine, issue 2.2. 1998

Oasisn't
Project for Victoria magazine, issue 1. 1997

Never More Than This
CD project for Beck's New Contemporaries. Editon of 3,000. 1997

Fontaine
Project for Versus magazine, issue 4. 1995

Words & Pictures
Issues 1 - 10, published 1994-1997

Selected Bibliography

Essays
'Walking After Acconci'
Kate McGarry show reviewed by Marie-Ann McQuay, 2005
'Anonymous Lovers: The public and the personal in Anyone else isn't you'
JJ Charlesworth, written for Anyone else isn't you catalogue, 2005
'The music is all that matters and love is everything'
Momus, written for Anyone else isn't you catalogue, 2005
'Tape Me I'm Yours'
Steve Lamacq, written for Anyone else isn't you catalogue, 2005
'Nests, Puke, Frames and Baby Faces'
Tom McCarthy's essay about File under Sacred Music, 2003
'The Second Coming'
Vivienne Gaskin's essay about A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide' for Schnitt, 2003
Love letter, love letter'
Dan Howard-Birt's essay for Modern Love, 2001

More...

Selected Newspaper and Magazine Articles

To be immersed... Earl Miller, C Magazine Spring 08
Cross Platform. Louise Gray, The Wire 01/08
Art Fairs. Karen Rosenberg, New York Times 08/12/07
Retro/Necro. Pil & Galia Kollectiv, Art Papers 11/07
Silent Sound Programme, A Foundation 2007
History Will Repeat Itself. Catalogue Germany 2007
Communismo da foma. Alameda, Sao Paulo 2007
Angelaki. Routledge 08/07
Musical mix. Rebecca Barry, New Zealand Herald 06/07
Precious Little/ Katey Griffin, Groove Guide 06/07
Forsyth & Pollard. Lucia Farinati, Audio Arts 05/07
Changing Roles Source book, Witte de With 2007
Stars In... Lawrence Chiles, Wonderland 04/07
Film Festival Rotterdam. Catalogue, Rotterdam 2007
'Back To The Future'. Helen Sumpter, Time Out, 14 March 2007
'Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard'. Ossian Ward, Monopol, January 2007
'Music: Best of 2006', Artforum, December 2006
'Silent Sound '. Jonathan Griffin, Frieze, November - December 2006
'Street'. Michael Gibbs, Art Monthly, November 2006
'The voice within'. Chris Mugan, The Independent, 13 October 2006
'Be Here Now'. Adam E Mendelsohn, Art Monthly, October 2006
'Legends of the Fall'. Richard Clayton, Sunday Times, 17 September 2006
'Private View'. Helen Sumpter, Time Out, 31 May 2006
'Take Two'. Charles Danby, i-D magazine, June 2006
I thought about you the whole time'. Magazine project by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard, W-Art, April 2006
' Tripping with an iPod for the time being'. Text by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard for /seconds, April 2006
'Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard'. Miria Swain, Untitled Autumn 2005
'Lover's View'. Helen Sumpter, The Big Issue, 17th October 2005
'Got it Taped'. Paul Artrocker, Artrocker, Issue 15, 20 June 2005
'When does a sound become art?'. Survey, Art Review, May 2005
'Remake/Remodel'. Pil & Galia Kollectiv, Plan B, April/May 2005
'Cream of the Crop'. Charlotte Edwards, Independent, 4 July 2004
'London's top 25'. Charlotte Edwards, Art Review, July 2004
'We Love Each Other'. The Guardian Weekend, 17 April 2004
'Les jeux de l'amour et du mixtape'. La Presse, 18 February 2004
'Recording Romance. Montreal Mirror, 5 February 2004
'Psychotic Reaction'. Cathy Unsworth, Mojo, September 2003
'The Second Coming'. Vivienne Gaskin, Schnitt, Summer 2003
'Would a band...'. Niru Ratnam, i-D magazine, July 2003
'Rewind and repeat to fade'. Ian White, Art Review, June 2003
'Spastic Fantastic'. Michael Williams, Sleazenation, May 2003
'The Power of Re-Presentation'. Rob Haynes, Metro, 28 March 2003
'Kick The Kitsch'. Michael Bracewell, Independent, 23 March 2003
'It Beats Bingo!'. Iain Aitch, The Guardian, 17 March 2003
'Modern Love'. Gilda Williams. Art Monthly, February 2002
'Kill Yr Idols'. Hotshoe International, September 1999
'Star in their eyes'. Boy George, The Sunday Express, 12 July 1998
'Boy...'. Nick Coleman, The Independent, 10 July 1998
'Ziggy Plays Again'. Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 4 July 1998
'The Starman Cometh'. Michelle Olley, Attitude, July 1998
'Ziggy Rises Again'. Mark Paytress, Record Collector, July 1998
'Band Art'. Andrew Wilson, Art Monthly, October 1997
'Pop Art'. Susan Corrigan, i-D Magazine, August 1997
'New Contemporaries '97'. David Barrett, Art Monthly, July 1997
'Doing it for the Kids'. Iain Simons, Live Art Magazine, May 1997
'Reel Around The Fountain'. David Barrett, Frieze, March 1997
'Yerself is Steam'. Tania Guha, Time Out, 24-31 July 1996
'Interview'. Luci Eyers, Everything Magazine, April-June 1996
'Multiplication'. Erika Lederman, Art Monthly, February 1995
'Box Clever'. Angela Pertusini, The Big Issue, November 1994

More...

Selected Publications
'Silent Sound'. Programme. A Foundation, 2006
'Metropolis Rise'. Catalogue. Temporarycontemporary, 2006
'Experience, Memory, Re-enactment'. Steve Rushton, Piet Zwart Institute, 2006
'Change My Life'. Catalogue. Horsebridge Centre, 2006
'Anyone else isn't you'. Catalogue. The Hospital, 2005
'Biennale!'. Catalogue. Temporarycontemporary, 2005
'Viper Basel'. Catalogue. Viper Basel International Festival, 2004
'Yugoslav Biennial'. Catalogue. Vrsac, Serbia & Montenegro, 2004
This Much Is Certain'. Catalogue. RCA, London, 2004
'no FuN without U - The Art Of Factual Nonsense'. Ellipsis, 2000
'Strange Fascination'. David Buckley. Virgin Books, 1999
'Beck's New Contemporaries'. Catalogue. Cornerhouse, 1997
'Moving Targets'. Louisa Buck, Tate Gallery Publishing, 1997
'Life/Live'. Catalogue. Centro de Exposições / Centro de Belém, 1997
'Life/Live'. Catalogue. Musée d'Art Moderne, 1996

More...

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Download Iain & Jane's CV

Selected Press extracts

Adam E Mendelsohn,
Art Monthly
"... an illuminating exploration of artifice and nostalgia. A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide offered the audience keys to a moment locked away in time, by way of suspended disbelief and accurate representation. More profoundly, A Rock 'N' Roll Suicide addresses real-life idol worship, a love affair with images and fictions that are sucked out of the pages of magazines amd TV sets and enacted through the uniforms and costumes of daily life."

Charlotte Edwards, Independent on Sunday
"You won't find more penetrative excavations of music culture than in the films and actions of Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard." More...

This Much is Certain catalogue
"Iain and Jane are good artists - very good artists, both sincere and bold. Their work exposes and blows away the limits of the liberal culture... Iain and Jane are barely thirty. If File under Sacred Music is where baby-faced art is nesting, then its eventual monstrous birth will be quite an event." More...

Ian White, Art Review
"The magnitude and sensitivity of this engagement should not be underestimated. Its terms, beyond any binary, liberal accusations of exploitation, dared to embrace, more extremely than before, the tragic flaw lying between chance and action that makes Forsyth and Pollard's epic structures of re-performance such extraordinary works of art." More...

Iain Simons, Live Art Magazine
"Forsyth and Pollard know very well the power of pop and they wield it inspirationally, knowingly and above all lovingly... Notions of authenticity had been challenged, real and replica had been smudged together - it became apparent that this was less a tribute to six pop icons as a tribute to the gig itself and a loud, pissed-up requiem for authenticity.." More...

Susan Corrigan, i-D Magazine
"Perhaps the best and most honest lesson to be learned from these artists' obsessions and inspirations is the importance of accessibility and lack of pretension in any artistic sphere" More...

Mark Waugh, Arts Council England
In the era of signal decay where experience is increasingly mediated through technologies, the 'aura' of the live event still retains a charge. This charge recalls a desire for feedback and an overwhelming immersion in the sensory, a tearing apart of the teleology of the everyday. This charge is what makes performance or Live Art so challenging to audiences as it demands that they risk an investment of themselves in an event. What is fascinating about Iain and Jane's practice is that they are pursuing the limits of the Live through troubled archives, degraded information, unstable sources. on the surface this might seem crazy but it is a madness that, like Antonin Artaud's, unbinds the construction of normal reality making a profound necessity of experience and thus like Foucault's Madness and Civilisation - "holds captive a madness whose wild state can never in itself be restored."