Survival Shelf

The Survival Shelf series (2013 – ongoing) is an eclectic and ever expanding library of pre-owned books that somehow incorporate the word ‘survive’ in their titles.

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Photo credit: Exeter Phoenix
Photo credit: Exeter Phoenix
Photo credit: Exeter Phoenix
Photo credit: Exeter Phoenix
Photo credit: Exeter Phoenix
Photo credit: Exeter Phoenix

Who helped to make this

Survival Shelf (2012) was first commissioned for Hunt & Darton Café to act as a resource to their customers.

Where this work has ended up

Survival Shelf (2012) has toured with the Hunt & Darton Café to 14 UK locations (ACE Strategic Tour – 2012-2015), on 2 runs at Edinburgh Fringe (2012, 2013), 3 major cities in China (with British Council & Forest Fringe), Wildwurchs-Basel and Festive de Kurtz- Netherlands and Tate Modern. 

Survival Shelf (2013-18) has been exhibited at Exeter Phoenix (2013), Artsadmin (2014), and at The Edge, Bath as part of the group exhibition Know-How (2016).

Survival Shelf (2013-18) was acquired by Collection FRAC Champagne-Ardenne in 2019.

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Survival Shelf

Compiled through hours of scouring charity shops and ebay, the books included in Survival Shelf range from classic guides on surviving disasters, to advice on heartbreak, DIY, school exams, mental health, and celebrity biographies.

The obscure collection speaks to our desire to ‘be prepared’ for all eventualities, and places perceptions of emergency (personal and global) onto a shifting scale. Survival Shelf questions ideas of expertise, redundancy and usefulness, alongside the contemporary value of ‘fixing’ knowledge within a book format.