Grimaldi by Sam Taylor-Johnson (formerly Taylor-Wood) | The Big Egg Hunt
In 2008, Sam Taylor-Johnson directed the BAFTA and Palme d’Or nominated, Sundance Film Festival winning short film LOVE YOU MORE, written by Patrick Marber and produced by Anthony Minghella. Her directorial feature film debut came in 2009 with the critically acclaimed NOWHERE BOY, a film based on the childhood experiences of The Beatles songwriter and singer John Lennon, starring Aaron Johnson, Anne-Marie Duff and Kristen Scott Thomas. NOWHERE BOY was nominated for 4 BAFTAs including Best British Film and Outstanding Debut for Sam’s direction. In addition, Sam continues to direct commercials and music videos for worldwide brands and international artists, including the highly celebrated music video for R.E.M’s “ÜBerlin”, featuring leading actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Originally a sculptor, she began working in photography, film, and video in the early 1990s. Sam has had numerous group and solo exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (1997), where she won the Illy Café Prize for Most Promising Young Artist. She has also been nominated for The Turner Prize in 1998. Solo exhibitions include Kunsthalle Zurich (1997), Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek (1997), Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC (1999), Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (2000), a retrospective of her work at the Hayward Gallery, London (2002), State Russian Museum, St Petersburg (2004), MCA, Moscow (2004), BALTIC, Gateshead (2006), MCA Sydney (2006), MoCA Cleveland (2008) and the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston (2008). In 2011 she was made an Order of the British Empire (OBE).
