The Order of Things: A short Artist Documentary about Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry’s Great North Run Commission
It’s been an inspiring few months working on my latest artist documentary, Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry: The Order of Things, which I filmed earlier this year as part of the Great North Run Culture programme.
This commission has given me a chance to look at the Great North Run from an entirely new perspective — through the eyes of artists who notice the overlooked details most of us miss.
Every year, Great North Run Culture commissions an artist or filmmaker to create new work responding to the Great North Run. Now in its eighth year, the programme invited Swedish-British artist duo Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry to produce The Order of Things, a film that shifts our gaze away from the runners and crowds and focuses instead on the architecture and manmade structures that shape the route.
I’ve been following Karin and Reuben’s work for a while. Their moving-image projects often explore narrative, place, and how we perceive spaces around us. They’ve shown work internationally — at venues like Whitechapel Gallery in London and the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw — and their approach to filmmaking is always thoughtful and precise.
For this commission, they turned their attention to the hidden world of the Great North Run’s urban landscape. Instead of dramatic shots of the race itself, The Order of Things captures bridges, road markings, signposts, and the texture of everyday infrastructure — all those details that vanish into the background when you’re caught up in the spectacle of a half marathon.
During filming, Karin shared with me:
“I’m really interested in those places beyond the spectacular landmarks… my favourite part is where the focus sound comes in because Philip Glass works a lot with rhythm, rather than harmonic sounds, and to work with visuals to that was quite exciting.”
That rhythm is a huge part of the film. Rather than focusing on runners pounding past, the piece moves at a slower, more meditative pace. As Karin said:
“You really get to see the spaces that in an urban environment make up a day-to-day space from a different perspective, but also a different pace… people get to hear the acoustics of being in that space as a pedestrian and as a huge group of people, which is a really special opportunity and not worth repeating.”
Alongside the film, Karin and Reuben have produced a book called The Order of Things, which is available at the exhibition. It’s filled with stills from the film and research material they gathered during production, shining a light on the tiny details you’d normally race past without noticing — whether you’re running the Great North Run or just going about daily life.
As a filmmaker, working on this project has been a fantastic reminder of how much the ordinary urban environment transforms under different conditions — whether it’s thousands of runners flooding the roads or empty bridges waiting in silence. It’s made me look differently at bridges, roads, and signposts around me, and I’m tempted to find an unusual vantage point to watch the next Great North Run myself.
Technically, this was also a rewarding film to shoot and edit. Capturing the rhythm and subtle visuals that match Philip Glass’s music was a new challenge for me, and it felt perfectly aligned with Karin and Reuben’s practice.
The Order of Things is currently screening as part of Great North Run Culture. If you’re nearby, I’d highly recommend visiting to watch the film and see the book. It’s a rare opportunity to view the Great North Run — and the urban spaces it passes through — from a completely new angle.
Thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on working with artists or capturing hidden details in urban environments through documentary film. If you’d like to see more of my films about artists and their work, you can find them here on my website.