Keith Albarn:

Born in 1939, studied art and architecture at Nottingham before moving to London to specialise in sculpture.

Sixties:

After working freelance to finance “Environmental Art” projects [including“Interplay” at the ICA], formed Keith Albarn and Partners at 26 Kingly Street, W1,

an art laboratory and design consultancy. Commissions included a hardtop festival venue [South of France] with the Soft Machine and Mark Boyle etc., toys and

learning aids [“Tumbli” – Design Centre Award], “Ekistikit” – a GRP modular building and furniture system,used for “FunPalaces” [eg. Girvan, see above], “Multiples”, “Events” and “Happenings”.

Seventies:

Formed Vertex to research, design and build exhibitions including “The World of Islam” [ICA,London], “Islamath- ematica” [Rotterdam] and the book “Language of Pattern”

[Thames and Hudson 1974]. Design coordinator for “Illusion in Art , Nature and Science” [also at the ICA and New York] and a further book, “Diagram – the Instrument of Thought”

[1977] and became Course Leader in Fine Art [North East London Polytechnic]. The publicity generated led to some T.V. [ “One Man’s Week” etc.] and Media activity [articles].

Eighties:

Began with the appointment to Colchester Institute as Head of School of Art and Design. Later,led various course developments, the setup of the first School of Design in Mauritius,

helped initiate Artists Studios complex in Colchester, exhibited sculpture regularly, continued personal research, visiting lectures [usually on aspects of morphogenesis in art and nature],

further publications and external examining.

Nineties:

Followed, assisting with the development of a new visual and media arts centre [firstsite] for Colchester, a new M.A in “Health and the Arts”, consultant to the Sheikh of Dubai

on the feasibility of a new Art School/University, before an early “retirement” allowed for a move back to London with “new” technology to devote more time to understanding

more of the rules of the cosmic game via art works derived from patterns and number in art and nature as “Models of the Mind”. [Occasional “Art and Maths” workshops for schools followed.]

Millennium onward:

Producing installations [with Unit for Designerblock, London, Tokyo, Seoul and Milan 2005 -7], a two man show of Digital Prints for Design Week, London 2008, commisioned

to design glyphs for”Naked Lunch@50, anniversary essays” edited by Oliver Harris and Ian MacFadyen for Southern Illinios Press 2009, completed a hefty web-site [www.albarnseries.com]

and computer generated imagery with sound [on the “Edge of Chaos”].

Currently, putting together a multimedia body of work of many years gestation, on Pattern and Belief [see Exhibition 2013 on this new web-site], as my modest contribution to the West’s hi-tech, struggle

for a [value-loaded?] “Theory of Everything” as it reconnects with the low-tech, Eastern traditions of Experimental Philosophy, see-er and seer.

[Web-sites etc. with Jim Birdsell, as Unit]