Railway Bridge Commission 2024: ‘Blue Collared’ Nico Smith
Focal Point Gallery is pleased to present our annual Railway Bridge Commission with a new site-specific public artwork by photographer Nico Smith. This year’s commission has been selected by curator Johny Pitts to accompany his Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition After the End of History: British working class photography 1989–2024, taking place at Focal Point Gallery from 3rd July to 14th September 2024. This exhibition explores life through the lenses of working class artists, who have not only turned their gaze to their own communities, but also out towards the wider world.
The images presented in both banners represent Smith’s practice over the last 5 years and were all taken on the council estate on which he has lived on for 28 years. He is subconsciously drawn to photographing subjects which transmit a sense of nostalgia, conveying feelings of calmness and comfort which can contrast with the intense pace of day-to-day life. Photographs such as the married couple by the pool table at a social club where Smith used to go with his parents, or the Bingo Hall that they used to frequent reflect being brought up in a working-class family. The self-portraits are also influenced by his surroundings, including some of his family’s old possessions given Smith grew up in a house filled with photographs and has cherished the medium as a way to preserve memory. Smith works very intuitively and is drawn to the lighting, the composition or even just the colour palette of a scene when he thinks these elements will make for a good photograph.
About the artist:
Nico Smith is a photographer from Chelmsford, Essex. He is self-taught, learning through YouTube videos and trial and error and exclusively uses film, from 35mm to large format – he develops and processes the photographs in his bathroom at home. Smith has experimented with different techniques and genres, from portraiture to documentary and street photography, and is primarily influenced by cinematography and film, taking inspiration from photographers and film directors such as Gregory Crewdson and Shane Meadows.