Bob and Roberta Smith OBE, RA,  is the pseudonym of the artist Patrick Brill. Born in London, he studied at the University of Reading from (1981-1985) and Goldsmiths College (1991).

He trained as a sign painter in New York and uses text as an art form, creating colourful slogans on banners and placards that challenge elitism and advocate the importance of creativity in politics and education.

His best known works are Make Art Not War (1997) and Letter to Michael Gove (2011), a letter to the UK Secretary of State for Education reprimanding him for the “destruction of Britain’s ability to draw, design and sing”.

His curatorial projects include Art U Need: An Outdoor Revolution, which transformed public spaces in the Thames Gateway (2005-2006), and Peace Camp at The Brick Lane Gallery (2006), an exploration of artists’ perceptions of peace. A regular speaker at conferences and symposia, he initiated the Arts’ Party Conference 2013, a forum for artists and organisations to debate the role of art and design in schools.

As well as hosting a radio show called Make Your Own Damn Music on Resonance FM, Bob and Roberta Smith is a writer and musician, often performing with the Ken Brasley Playboy band. In 2009, he was appointed as a Tate Trustee and he is currently Associate Professor at the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design at London Metropolitan University.

 This biography was taken from the RA website.

THAMESMEAD CODEX AT TATE MODERN until December 2024

Thamesmead Codex celebrates the voices and local community of Thamesmead, London

 

THAMESMEAD CODEX 

From 2019–2020, artist Bob and Roberta Smith interviewed people who live in Thamesmead, southeast London. Built in 1968 to alleviate London’s housing shortage, Thamesmead was one of many modernist large-scale housing projects constructed across Europe after the Second World War. Smith talked to a number of local residents, from some of its very first occupants to young people growing up during the Covid-19 pandemic. He then turned their conversations into the 24 painted placards you can see here. Reflecting on the work, Smith said ‘I thought I was making a painting about a housing estate, but actually I’ve been painting about the desire to be heard.’

‘Codex’, from the title Thamesmead Codex, is an ancient term for a manuscript or book. Here, the artist presents a modern-day version. The work documents the histories and identities of Thamesmead and its communities. It records memories from the past, and hopes for a post-Covid future. Alongside this record of people’s thoughts and experiences, Smith includes vivid and futuristic landscape scenes much like illustrated pages of a codex.

Bob and Roberta Smith (whose real name is Patrick Brill) brings together sign writing, activism and discarded materials. Talking about his practice, he says he sees ‘art as an important element in democratic life.’

 

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https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/bob-and-roberta-smith-thamesmead-codex