​"GRAND CENTRAL" BY TERRY SMITH, 2003
In order to describe the creative process of Terry Smith, our attention must be focused upon two different yet complimentary internal sensibilities.

The first derives its origins from emotional instinct and recalls the same unrestrainable enthusiasm harnessed by children at play: in one swift movement they can completely relinquish the rules of their given game and disrupt all order. Reality is something which cannot really be understood merely through that complex system of rules absorbed over years of education, but through the continuous experimentation with everything in our surrounding environment.
To transgress is not the act of rebellion for the sake of it, but functions as a means of discovering certain knowledge beyond that which you already know.

Re-enacting the same method of investigation, Smith excavates the wall of an abandoned building; he writes on its surfaces and dismantles certain objects in order to understand their function. In his video "Marking Time" (Palazzo Ca'Rezzonico, Nova Icona, 1999) during a game of cards, Smith challenges both the players and the game itself by continually altering the rules of the game throughout its duration.

Smith is using his work as a site of investigation. A Victorian house on the verge of demolition is not merely a building but a structure which reveals new perceptive possibities through an investigation beyond its first layer of paint, through the plaster and behind its surfaces.

Smith's unnerving faith in his own artistic process allows us to understand a second human internal sensibility. In a single thought, a precise process of the analysis of experience, Smith guides us towards a clearer understanding of ourselves by allowing us to witness that we do not need to fear the possibility that chaos can destroy all that we know. It is here, in the fulcrum between reason and instinct, that the artist reveals to us new realities that don't assume the existence of absolute truths but give us the opportunity to explore alternative worlds of possibility.

Continuing along this line of thought the artist arrives at "Grand Central". The title of this video work alludes to the well known train station in the heart of Manhattan. A man enters a cocktail bar in Glasgow and takes a seat.
An exteral voice interprets his thoughts. In this particular piece, through the analysis of human behaviour and via the objects of the everyday the protagonist slowly lead us towards a greater comprehension of reality. In this moment the theme of the work unites the artist, the interpreter and the spectator in a completely spiritual dimension.All are bound together by the human necessity to understand one's reality by obtaining a succession of answers, however the responses we receive merely provide us with the knowledge that the comprehension of the complexity of existence is beyond our reach. However, we can edge closer to it only by further and continuous questioning.

​Terry Smith investigates his role as an artist and invites us to follow his tracks. Slowly, step by step, frame by frame, our thirst for knowledge is gradually satisfied. However, the definitive answer only comes to those who dare to pose another question, as satisfaction only comes to those who are never content with the knowledge that they posses.

Grand Central was commissioned by Vittorio Urban at Nova Icon, Venice and produced by the Museum of Installation, London. It formed part of the project InHabit presented for the 50th anniversary of the Venice Biennale in 2003.

Further Material
https://www.terrysmith.studio/grand-central

External:
Website
​Wikipedia