Recognized for his large-scale abstract works, London-based painter Alexander James has found a channel for intimate reflections through his art, embedded with personal memories and histories. Entering art as a self-confessed storyteller, James consumes and combines recent and ancient fragments on canvas – building his recent body of work as a diary, translated from letters, photographs and memorabilia, conversations and emotions.

Looking to his grandfather Gerry Kaye’s stories as a profound influence since his childhood, snippets of their conversations live on, collating from tapes gathered over the years. Passing down the weight of history through tales of family, resilience, and London life after World War II, an intimate telephone conversation between them becomes the backbone of short film Smile – honoring the power of intergenerational storytelling.

Directed by Robin Hunter Blake and Laurence Hills, and combining 16mm film and high-definition footage, the film captures James in his London studio over several weeks, guided by Kaye’s human wisdom and animated delivery. As the conversation unfolds, Smile journeys into the familial bonds and shared history that lead James’ practice, exploring how the past informs the present through the process of listening, remembering, and creating.