Castle 1 (first staged in 1966) was one of the first film-installations. It is composed of a solitary light bulb, suspended directly in front of the screen and a film containing found footage gathered from bins outside London Soho's film labs (these were second-hand images from T.V. documentaries, thematically linked to the 'surface' of the industrial institution and political world). At intermittent points during the film, the light bulb is switched on, obliterating the projected image and illuminating the space around it.

“Inspired by the writing of Franz Kafka (the title refers to Kafka's novel Castle), and the painting/installations of Robert Rauschenberg, Castle 1 produces an alienating effect upon the audience, provoking in them an awareness of the cinema space and a feeling of distance from the projected image”. (Harding, James, 2005. Extract from LuxOnline)

"The light bulb was a Brechtian device to make the spectator aware of himself. I don't like to think of an audience in the mass, but of the individual observer and his behaviour. What he goes through while he watches is what the film is about. I'm interested in the way the individual constructs variety from his perceptual intake" (Malcolm Le Grice, Films and Filming, February 1971).

Exhibitions

1968. Malcolm Le Grice: Location? Duration, Arts Laboratory Drury Lane, London, UK

1973. Filmaktion, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK

1974.Projekt '74, Cologne, Germany

1976.Arte Inglese Oggi, Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy

1977.Documenta 6, Kassel, Germany

1977.Film als Film, Cologne, Berlin and Essen, Germany

1979.Film as Film, Hayward Gallery, London, UK

2000.Live in Your Head, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK

2002. Shoot Shoot Shoot, Tate Modern, London (touring), UK

2011. Malcolm Le Grice: Le Temps des Images, Espace Multimédia Gantner, Bourgogne, France

2012.Filmaktion, Tate Modern, London, UK

2012. Film in Space, Camden Arts Centre, London, UK

Literature

Curtis, David, 2007. A History of Artists' Film and Video in Britain. London: BFI, 206.

Harding, James, 2005. "Castle 1 by Malcolm Le Grice, London", in LuxOnline at http://www.luxonline.org.uk/histories/1960-1969/castle_1.html

Michalka, Matthias, ed., 2004. X-Screen: Film Installations and Actions in the 1960s and 1970s. Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 136-137.

Gow, Gordon, 1971. "On Malcolm Le Grice", in Films and Filming, February, 1971.

Rees, A.L., White, Duncan, Ball, Steven, Curtis, David, eds., 2011. Expanded Cinema: Art, Performance, Film. London: Tate Publishing, 101, 160-161.