The Hammer or the Nail / (2012)

_HD Video
_Duration: 39:45 mins
_DOP: Greg Taylor
_Editing: Chris Belcher
_Sound: John Hannon
_Featuring: David Hurrell
_Copyright: Mat Do

Shot on location in Southend-on-Sea (Essex, UK), 'The Hammer or the Nail' begins on the site of the infamous live music venue 'Minerva', now an Indian restaurant. As a tribute to its former function, the film documents a dinner party of selected local (and ex) musicians at the venue.

The film opens and closes with an introduction to the locale and origins of the building, by local artist-historian David Hurrell – before moving inside to a roundtable dinner-discussion where its members candidly discuss and explore their collective and individual histories and memories of the local, national and international scene that they were all involved with.

As the dinner plates are removed and desserts and coffees are brought to the table, locally-based psychotherapist David Sheppard begins an analysis of what he has observed and listened to.

After observing the constituency around the table throughout the duration of the meal, Shepherd presents an introduction to the potential pressures and stresses that come with being a jobbing-artist; focusing specifically on the strains and compromises that inevitably come with the group dynamic of the "band".

Throughout the film, the dinner party footage is intercut with interior shots of the 'Chinnerys'; a celebrated and still functioning live music venue sited all of 100 metres away on Southend's famous esplanade. Shot during closed hours, the camera seemingly floats through the space, exploring with meticulous detail its features, surfaces and textures – the emphasis now shifted onto the stillness that resonates from a site ordinarily associated with the vivid sights, sounds and smells of the gig.

'The Hammer or the Nail', was commissioned for the survey group exhibition; 'Thames Delta' – a historical and culturally significant group exhibition at Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, Essex (16th April - 30th June 2012) – reflecting the growth, variety and development of popular music by those groups and individuals that have grown up or lived in the South Essex area since the late 1940s.

'The Hammer or the Nail' was made possible and funded directly through the lottery and Arts Council England.