Ben Judd : The Origin

1 Jun-12 Jul 2020

Overview

Stanley Picker Fellow Ben Judd is collaborating with local residents, community groups, students and academics to create an adaptable floating structure which will travel along the River Thames. The work will consider the importance of community within a large city and facilitate meaningful exchanges between strangers, aiming to reconnect people both to each other and to their environment. Prior to the physical version, an online version will run for six weeks throughout June and July on these pages. Britain’s island status, both literal and metaphorical, has always been at the heart of its identity; this work will mirror those concerns by creating a miniature floating community that will act as a microcosm for the ways in which we co-habit, communicate and solve problems. A temporary community, an experiment in living, is exciting and relevant because it embraces the propositional; the ‘what if’ – it can be seen as a rehearsal for an alternative future. The idea of a classless, stateless, humane society based on common ownership feels particularly poignant within the current climate. This work aims to reconsider ideas of hope, love, solidarity, care and support. The community’s values will therefore be centred around these core themes and will aim to define and explore them throughout the project. Participants will be invited to engage with a real, live, porous community and contribute to its development. Participants will have a dedicated week in which to develop specific aspects of the community, such as costume, narrative, movement, music, engagement with the local environment, and use of the boat. #TheOriginKingston