Stuart Whipps: Necessary Amendments

Softback, 128 pages

Necessary Amendments has six related parts, at the heart of which is a crude, but useful, dichotomy. Video stills that depict public artworks in Miton Keynes are displayed on top of reproduced pages from MK Insider, the internal newspaper of the Milton Keynes development corporation. Whilst public art is often used to express the aspirations of a town or city, the cartoons in MK Insider offer an alternative way of reading Milton Keynes and the people who planned and built it.

These two elements are presented with stills from Open University films who are also based in Milton Keynes, writing from the earliest residents of the town, photographs of contemporary Milton Keynes and a new piece of writing by Honor Gavin.

Necessary Amendments accompanies the film of the same name and was commissioned by MK Gallery as part of City Club, a programme of new art, performances, family activities, happenings and talks inspired by the original vision behind Milton Keynes. It provided a framework for MK Gallery’s interim programme while the building was closed for construction.