This publication was produced on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Deptford X to coincide with the 2023 Deptford X festival, and authored and edited by current Deptford X director, Nathalie Boobis. It makes use of administrative records alongside archival imagery to examine the timeline of Deptford X’s origins.
Also featured in the book is a limited edition artwork by Holly Graham; 'On the verge of something very big', 2023
Graham's collaged text work is collated from archived Deptford X pamphlets, press articles and visitor feedback. These compositions form a non-linear history of Deptford and reveal the aspirations and anxieties projected onto the future of the area. Heterogeneous voices are scrambled, regrouped and collaged together, with Graham considering the tendency of arts and culture to be co-opted and used to fuel gentrification, examining artisartists’ complicity in this process.
