The Nomadic Studio is an enquiry into the role of the artist studio within processes of re–development in cities today, and portrays the spirit of an artists’ commune working in temporary urban sites.
Operating as case study, this photographic perspective encompasses a set of vignettes, reflections, facts and fantasies extracted from the lifeworld of a transitional artist led community and its 18 months in creative habitation of a complex of defunct council premises in Bermondsey, South London.
The photographs provide an intimate portrait of a group of artists – who belong to the most prolific amongst a generation emerging against the cultural and economic backdrop of London in the 2010s – and frame a pivotal moment in the development of their thinking, creativity, outlook and practice.
In light of this narrative the publication also revisits the rarely told historical experience of autonomous artist spaces and their sociopolitical implications through a series of new texts and interviews with contributors Mike Nelson, Jonathan Harvey, Ron Henocq and Fran Cottell.
Capturing the nature of such transient spatial interactions, The Nomadic Studio explores and highlights a vital cultural tradition of experimentation and freedom within the increasingly precarious urban zone and the extent to which these temporary artist–run spaces — despite their importance within contemporary culture and the city — are often forgotten.
