The Lie of the Land

16 March – 26 May 2019, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes

Curated by Fay Blanchard, Tom Emerson, Niall Hobhouse, Sam Jacob, Gareth Jones, Anthony Spira, and Claire Louise Staunton.

From previous aristocratic monopoly of forrested areas to housing projects built in an effort to modernise, land-use has always been tied both to pleasure and practicality. Focussing on how the former shapes the latter, this exbhibtion reconsidered historical trends and cultural currents have made us interact with the landscape.

In tandem with these national considerations there was also a strong local focus, not only on Milton Keynes the new city, but also on objects from throughout the history of the area. By juxtaposing these more sentimental objects with the icons of urban planning exported from Milton Keynes to the nation, the exhbition questioned the nature of urban participation and the resulting personal, local, and national idenities.

Drawing Matter lent to this exhibition a geodesic chandelier designed by Buckminster Fuller and John Ruskin’s geological cabinet, housing both the rocks themselves and notes written by Ruskin himself.