Who owns the land?

My research focuses on the politics of power and its symbolic and active enactment –aesthetic, spatial, social, economic. For this presentation I will concentrate on recent works I have made on land ownership, drawing a direct link between private landed rural estates and the scarcity, and subsequent overpricing of commercial value of urban property, and designated governmental urban views which expose the socio-political and ideological construction and operation of urbanism and regeneration, and its shaping of the relationship of citizens societally and to public space.

To coincide with the exhibition Pictures Not Homes, AMT research group will be hosting a symposium to explore themes inherent within the show. Against the backdrop of urban regeneration with its language of improvement the symposium will explore the multiple functions image-making technologies play in capturing and creating narratives of optimism and despair. Hosted by Prof. Jussi Parikka, guest speakers include Francis Summers, Pat Naldi, Louisa Minkin and Ian Dawson who will interweave a rich array of themes- from archaeological methods to art practice. Featuring work grounded in interdisciplinary research these themes will be pointed very much towards the future asking what role artists play in shaping the landscape that in turn is shaped by the the media that records it.