The Lie of the Land

Soft back, 224 pages

The Lie of the Land charts how British landscape has been radically transformed through changing attitudes to free time, culture and leisure. It presents a playful and thoughtful context for the city of Milton Keynes, which was designed to provide ideal living conditions for 250,000 people. This eclectic survey begins in the gardens at Stowe, only 15 miles from Milton Keynes, and begs the question: how did we get from Capability Brown's quintessential, picturesque landscape to the radical modernist grid of Milton Keynes?

This publication accompanies the inaugural exhibition in the new MK Gallery and crosses genres, media and timeframes, including work by over 85 artists, architects, planners and designers.

New essays are included by Jes Fernie, Cora Gilroy-Ware and Paul Gilroy, Owen Hatherley and Jane Rendell alongside contributions from the curatorial team: Fay Blanchard, Tom Emerson, Niall Hobhouse, Sam Jacob, Gareth Jones, Anthony Spira and Claire Louise Staunton.