ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book draws from a number of contemporary thinkers who offer diverse viewpoints on art, politics and globalisation, identifying a number of ‘openings’ within current discourses - beginnings of a shift in thinking. It explains the relevance of Nancy’s philosophy, in particular the concepts of spacing, exscribing and co-appearing. The book investigates how Nancy’s approach to ontology diverges from phenomenological interpretations of being. This divergence is key to understanding his thinking of ‘being singular plural’ and being as a shared separation. The book approaches Nancy’s concept of ‘exscribing’ through curatorial practices with an arts collective, Art Action UK. Art Action UK is a London-based group of artists, curators, gallerists and writers that offers an annual residency programme for artists who live and work in East Japan and who are responding to the socio-political consequences of the 2011 nuclear disaster.
