James Richards’ video and sculptural works use found and reworked material for both media. By assembling, reordering and adding sound, Richards’ montages produce a new series of narratives. The process of re-editing repositions the material — by subtracting specific events or by emphasising certain moments, Richards removes the particular and creates more enigmatic moments, with complex subtexts and purposeful ambiguity.

Richards creates a number of short video works, which he then curates into a single work or programme specifically for each exhibition.These pieces effectively act as vignettes arranged and sequenced for each showing, which fade and dissolve into each other, primarily in the form they take within the gallery, but also in his expanded practice.

Much of the emphasis in these works is the attempt to isolate a few instances from the original material, moments of slippage or singularity that result in works that can be romantic, funny or poignant.

A Woman In Your Own Right, Assertiveness And You is a self-help book by Anne Dickinson, published between 1982 and 1992. Made with a patented silver card cover, the book allows the reader to see his or her own face in the cover. Stacked one on top of the other, and towering at around 6’5” high, Resolution echoes the form of a minimal sculpture but with the flaws of handled and read second-hand books and the precariousness of its own height. Richards has been accumulating the book over some time, allowing the sculpture to grow more human in scale, and in turn more vulnerable and precarious.

James Richards (born Cardiff, 1983) lives and works in London.

Recent projects include a solo presentation at Tramway, Glasgow and participation in group shows including Nought To Sixty at the ICA, London, Generational: Younger Than Jesus at the New Museum, New York and A Song For Those In Search Of What They Came With, at Bellwether Gallery, New York.

His videos have been screened in curated programmes at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, Light Industry, New York and the Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne.

He is currently preparing material for a show curated by LUX at ZOO, London and is curating a series of screenings for FormContent, London.