If you feel like working up a head of steam about the shortcomings of English architects, engineers and town planners, the South-West is a good place to go. – Ian Nairn, 1967

Togetherness: Notes on Outrage celebrated the pioneering work of the architecture critic Ian Nairn whose 1955 edition of Architectural Review, entitled Outrage, revolutionised architectural criticism. For Outrage, Nairn travelled across England observing and documenting the urban sprawl and ubiquitous civic architecture. Broken into 25-mile segments, Outrage proposes an audit of every facet of subtopian aesthetics, covering subjects ranging from wire fencing, telegraph poles and street lights, to military installations and power stations, culminating in a manifesto and checklist of planning malpractices.

Togetherness: Notes on Outrage at Kestle Barton represented the continuation of South Kiosk’s ongoing research project that first began at our London space in 2016. Having initially explored Nairn’s writings within an urban context in London, Togetherness moved to Kestle Barton to focus on Cornwall and Nairn’s writings on the ‘wild’ environment. For the show, photographer Felicity Hammond presented a new large-scale collage work, Lands End in reference both to the Turner painting of the same name and the potential change in the landscape of the area. Polly Tootal’s large format architectural photographs referenced a number of site visits made to new residential and business developments across Cornwall, the South-West and wider England across 2017. A recent graduate from Goldsmith’s MFA programme, Badham presented MORNING. A long term research project, MORNING explored the correlation between a series of ‘space race’ influenced climbing frames and the post-war New Towns movement. The frames, their design a reflection of the optimism of the period, subsequently fell into a state of near disrepair epitomising the stagnancy of the New Towns movement across England.

Togetherness: Notes on Outrage also included temporary and film works by artists Catherine Yass, Joseph Townshend, Jason Wood & Simon Barker, Mark Jenkin, Matthew Burgess and Jamie George.

Togetherness: Notes on Outrage was presented by South Kiosk in collaboration with Kestle Barton and was made possible with funding from Arts Council England.

Kestle Barton is an ancient Cornish farmstead situated above the Helford River. Opened in 2010, the gallery has a programme of four exhibitions each year working with artists based in, or with strong connections to, Cornwall.