Robinson In Space
Patrick KeillerRobinson in Space is a visual, satirical record of a journey made by a fictional character called Robinson, narrated by his travelling companion and researcher, through the increasingly unknown space of present-day England. Robinson quotes Oscar Wilde: ‘It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible not the invisible. . .’ His assumptions about economic failure, especially in manufacturing industry, are gradually challenged by the discovery of an industrial economy that employs few people but still generates most of the wealth of the fifth-largest economy in the world. Robinson in Space incorporates material from the award-winning film of the same name that was released just before the British 1997 General Election. The book juxtaposes the narrative and over 200 intriguing, strange-yet-familiar images from the film to take the reader on a fascinating journey through the landscapes of present-day England.
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Keiller takes the reader to places neither the camera nor the narrator would have been able to reach on celluloid. The sidebars and footnotes add an enormous amount of information that both educate the reader and further elucidate the writer's purpose . . . the touch is deft, subtle and ironic, never preachy.
'Time Out
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The book-of-the-film includes stills, research notes and annotations. It does a superb job of excavating the stealth economy which operates behind the picturesque scenery of inter-urban deprivation creating more wealth than ever but keeping it in fewer hands. Essential.
'i-D
Patrick Keiller is a film-maker who was previously an architect. Robinson in Space was the winner of one of three Tiger awards at the 26th International Film Festival in Rotterdam in 1997. Robinson in Space was co-winner of the Grand Award film arc.graz at the Third Internationale Biennale Film and Architecture, Graz.