Nick Thomas

Nick Thomas will use his Creative Lab residency to research the intersections of themes such as nationalism, post-Cold War militarisation, outsourcing and Christianity at the site of the MOD missile testing facility in Uist. He will explore the strange narratives revolving around this test facility, exemplified by Compton Mackenzie's novel Rockets Galore, and its subsequent film adaptation - both produced in the late 1950s at the height of Cold War tensions, just as the island was being militarised.

A founding member of the SNP, Mackenzie's portrayal is one of few accounts to historicise such events in the UK and continues to be relevant in the context of contemporary political debates. Using moving image, sound and installation, Nick hopes to analyse the cultural and political artefacts which surround the ongoing shifts at this site.

There will be a public screening of Rockets Galore as part of the residency, date tbc.