The Future of Flat Time HO

In 2003 John Latham officially opened Flat Time HO at 210 Bellenden Road, London SE15. This house, a living sculpture, is the culmination of a fifty year exploration by Latham in which his concepts of Flat Time and Event Structure were recorded, exhibited, discussed and continually developed.

In an interview at Flat Time HO with Marianne Brouwer in 2004, Latham began his explanation:

"I'm going to try to tell you what this is all doing. This used to be a shop, and the window is a membrane through which I thought I've got a book sculpture. A book sculpture is information which is in the face. The house is... the front of the house is the face of what I'm calling Flat Time HO. Flat Time House you can call it. But what you see has a membrane behind it which takes you into what I'm calling the mind in here. And why this is the mind is because it's got the abstract version of the cosmic history which comes from a zero point." [John Latham, 2004]

Latham frequently began a tour of Flat Time HO in this manner, taking the visiting artist, philosopher, scientist, student or other, around the various compartments of the house that he described as 'the face', 'the mind', 'the brain', 'the hand' and 'the body event'.

This dynamic environment was consistent with Latham's unceasing thirst to explore the world as an artist, or incidental person. As he said:

"Now, it's very important to recognise that in art what we have is a map which will give us a step behind where physics got to and a step behind where theology started and it's still labouring because it's still viable." [Latham, 2004]

Continuing with John Latham's wishes, a team including Barbara Steveni , Noa Latham, John-Paul Latham, Simon Gould and Karen Lorenz is attempting to devise a viable future for Flat Time HO. We are considering several avenues including the creation of a physical archive and a fully digitalised interactive archive of Latham's works, writings and correspondence relating to Flat Time Theory. In the shorter term exhibitions, talks, screenings, publications and other events are being devised. Appropriate support is also being sought to convert Flat Time HO into a fully accessible centre for the study, discussion, exhibition and practice of John Latham's work.

Please contact Simon Gould on info@theleastevent.com if you would like to receive information about future developments of Flat Time HO.

 

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