4min. RED Komodo. 2025.
I make films with and about my family. Sometimes they are serious, sometimes they are a laugh. I’d like that they be both at all times. This film, Jeff Reads Jokes, is an ironic portrayal of an inside joke (that he is in fact a great joke teller, but put the camera on him, he freezes up) and an homage to the 1996 book, Ray’s a Laugh by Richard Billingham, who famously photographed his impoverished, drunken family and exposed them to the art world. In a 2016 interview for the Guardian, Billingham was asked if Ray minded the photos (many of which portray Ray as a debauched lunatic) to which Billingham answered: “I don’t think he took any notice, or if he did it was probably that he was pleased I was in the room with him. The camera acted as a mediator.” I would characterize my relationship with my father, Jeff, in the same way. We have made at least ten projects together in some form. I don’t think he has looked at one of them. It’s not that he doesn’t care, it’s just not what interests him about working together. Whereas I, the artist, am simple minded: I look at the film and evaluate it. The joke is on me.
Full film Vimeo
some images
Screenings:
TBD