Originally a film by British avant-garde filmmaker Nichola Bruce, The Romance of Bricks is a portrait of the artist Liz Finch: a British painter, performer and poet.

From her life-changing accident and rural solitude to the mad social whirl of anarchic performances in 80s London and up to the present day, The Romance of Bricks sews together archival film over many years to produce an intriguing glimpse into the private world of the artist.

The book is a screenplay of the film itself, weaving the commentary of friends and cultural figures with reproductions of Finch’s artworks. Scenes are embedded with Liz’s surreal arrangements of found and made objects, which sometimes existed only for one day. The artist’s figurative work explores themes of the unconscious based on early childhood perception and a preoccupation with the ordinary. Finch subverts the norm to see things as they are, not by the usual conventions. The result is humorous, somewhat haunting and poetic.

The Romance of Bricks features commentary from Jools Holland, Christine Binnie, Jennifer Binnie, John Finch, Sir Brian Clarke, Aubrey Fabing, Richard Strange, Nicola Bateman Bowery, Francesco Brusatin and Martin Harrison alongside an intimate dialogue with the artist herself.

Watch on HENI Talks The Romance of Bricks