A pioneer of installation art in the 1960s, Brazilian Cildo Meireles (b.1948) has influenced generations of international artists, yet, surprisingly, his work is little known in Britain. His dramatic and politically charged environments have included maze-like structures built upon shards of broken glass that the visitor must walk across, and rooms filled with ashes and the smell of gas.
This documentary (Gerald Fox, UK 2008, 50 min) by award-winning director Gerald Fox, presents an intimate portrait of the artist’s life and work, a story largely told by the artist himself. It opens with a section in Rio, where we see Meireles at his studio, with his family, and visiting the factory where his works are fabricated, before following him to London as he prepares for his retrospective at Tate Modern.
The film will also be televised on The South Bank Show, ITV, Sunday 26 October 2008, 22.35.
