Mary Adams

The Rise and Fall of Russell Brand: An Opportunity for More-Than-Personal Redemption?

A Strange Fusion Like many others, here at 3rd Space we have been aware of the unravelling and retreat of Russell Brand in the face of familiar, but shocking allegations of rape and sexual assault by a male celebrity. Incidents that in this case allegedly occurred between 2003 – 2013. Given Brand’s self-confessed battles with addictions spanning drugs, alcohol, and

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‘Barbie’: Subversive Feminism or Subversive Corporatism?

A Faustian Bargain My granddaughter of 7 years of age is perhaps typical of a many little girls today, raised in a culture permeated by post 60’s feminist consciousness. She wears purple fairy wings, loves all things pink and glittery while simultaneously fearlessly scaling 50 foot trees in the forests of Costa Rica, her home. She is a bright, composite

Read More

How Dare You! Ethics and the Judiciary

Part One UK Climate Trials The UK’s climate trials present a complex matrix against which the personal, political, and spiritual dimensions of British culture are being tested. “Once bitten twice shy”. The judge smiled confidently as he shifted in his seat. A pin drop silence descended in the cavernous courtroom as the implications of these words sank in. This was

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Embodied Intelligence & Paradigm Change: In Conversation with Kirstie Simson

Dance Improvisation – Exploring the Unlimited Potential of the Body 3rd Space: Welcome, Kirstie. Your Improvisation work has always expanded the boundaries of contemporary dance. Could you start by telling us about the origins of your journey? Kirstie: I always had a strong co-ordinated body and was good at sport. But I quickly realised that sports were all about winning.

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Metamodernism’s Noisy Cousin & the Art of Subverting Normalcy

The Illusion of Normalcy Soup on the Sunflowers, milk on the floor of Harrods, orange paint on the storefront of an exclusive Aston Martin showroom. Acts of anarchy, transgressive iconoclasm, irreverent rebellion, or something deeper? Rather than sensational acts of petty vandalism are these instead conscious acts, carefully thought through and aimed at disrupting the ‘normal’ ? Van Gogh’s masterpiece

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The Reluctant Activist: Exploring the Inner/Outer Divide

In May 2021 contemporary thinker and writer Jonathan Rowson wrote, “To be metamodern is to be caught up in the co-arising of hope and despair, credulity and incredulity, progress and peril, agency and apathy, life and death.” Rowson might have replaced the phrase “to be metamodern” with simply “to be alive in the 21st century”. He goes on to describe that as the

Read More

The Ukraine War: Challenging a Binary Lens

“As a person who believes in democracy, it’s disappointing to read from your comments that you are ideologically opposed to western values“.  My heart sank a little as I read this somewhat definitive conclusion about my cultural values, posted by a friend on Facebook. She was responding to an observation I had made in reference to the triumphalist tone and

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Ceiba – The Future of Carbonless Shipping

3rd Space: Welcome, Dani. It’s good to see you again. From our brief tour, it’s clear a lot of development has occurred with Ceiba over the past two years, especially given Covid.  Ceiba: Yes. When Covid hit us, it was of course very scary. We are such an employee-based company. We have a lot of people here at the shipyard working

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Racial Justice, Climate Activism, Self-Repair: building a new paradigm with Esther Stanford-Xosei

Planet Repair – Pre-Figuring a New World 3rd Space: Welcome to 3rd Space, Esther. I am going to dive straight in. (Smiles) Given the current systemic and existential crisis we’re facing globally through climate change and ecological breakdown, could you tell us about your work and how it relates to this crisis? Esther: That is a big question. But it’s an excellent

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Why Climate Change is a Social Justice Issue

Another COP is over. Despite the rhetoric to keep global warming to 1.5˚C, national pledges to address the climate crisis put us instead on track for an alarming global warming of about 2.4°C. Each year of delay in reducing global emissions means the task gets more challenging, and more costly for all of us. As the doors closed on COP26

Read More

The Rise and Fall of Russell Brand: An Opportunity for More-Than-Personal Redemption?

A Strange Fusion Like many others, here at 3rd Space we have been aware of the unravelling and retreat of Russell Brand in the face of familiar, but shocking allegations of rape and sexual assault by a male celebrity. Incidents that in this case allegedly occurred between 2003 – 2013. Given Brand’s self-confessed battles with addictions spanning drugs, alcohol, and

Read More

‘Barbie’: Subversive Feminism or Subversive Corporatism?

A Faustian Bargain My granddaughter of 7 years of age is perhaps typical of a many little girls today, raised in a culture permeated by post 60’s feminist consciousness. She wears purple fairy wings, loves all things pink and glittery while simultaneously fearlessly scaling 50 foot trees in the forests of Costa Rica, her home. She is a bright, composite

Read More

How Dare You! Ethics and the Judiciary

Part One UK Climate Trials The UK’s climate trials present a complex matrix against which the personal, political, and spiritual dimensions of British culture are being tested. “Once bitten twice shy”. The judge smiled confidently as he shifted in his seat. A pin drop silence descended in the cavernous courtroom as the implications of these words sank in. This was

Read More

Embodied Intelligence & Paradigm Change: In Conversation with Kirstie Simson

Dance Improvisation – Exploring the Unlimited Potential of the Body 3rd Space: Welcome, Kirstie. Your Improvisation work has always expanded the boundaries of contemporary dance. Could you start by telling us about the origins of your journey? Kirstie: I always had a strong co-ordinated body and was good at sport. But I quickly realised that sports were all about winning.

Read More

Metamodernism’s Noisy Cousin & the Art of Subverting Normalcy

The Illusion of Normalcy Soup on the Sunflowers, milk on the floor of Harrods, orange paint on the storefront of an exclusive Aston Martin showroom. Acts of anarchy, transgressive iconoclasm, irreverent rebellion, or something deeper? Rather than sensational acts of petty vandalism are these instead conscious acts, carefully thought through and aimed at disrupting the ‘normal’ ? Van Gogh’s masterpiece

Read More

The Reluctant Activist: Exploring the Inner/Outer Divide

In May 2021 contemporary thinker and writer Jonathan Rowson wrote, “To be metamodern is to be caught up in the co-arising of hope and despair, credulity and incredulity, progress and peril, agency and apathy, life and death.” Rowson might have replaced the phrase “to be metamodern” with simply “to be alive in the 21st century”. He goes on to describe that as the

Read More

The Ukraine War: Challenging a Binary Lens

“As a person who believes in democracy, it’s disappointing to read from your comments that you are ideologically opposed to western values“.  My heart sank a little as I read this somewhat definitive conclusion about my cultural values, posted by a friend on Facebook. She was responding to an observation I had made in reference to the triumphalist tone and

Read More

Ceiba – The Future of Carbonless Shipping

3rd Space: Welcome, Dani. It’s good to see you again. From our brief tour, it’s clear a lot of development has occurred with Ceiba over the past two years, especially given Covid.  Ceiba: Yes. When Covid hit us, it was of course very scary. We are such an employee-based company. We have a lot of people here at the shipyard working

Read More

Racial Justice, Climate Activism, Self-Repair: building a new paradigm with Esther Stanford-Xosei

Planet Repair – Pre-Figuring a New World 3rd Space: Welcome to 3rd Space, Esther. I am going to dive straight in. (Smiles) Given the current systemic and existential crisis we’re facing globally through climate change and ecological breakdown, could you tell us about your work and how it relates to this crisis? Esther: That is a big question. But it’s an excellent

Read More

Why Climate Change is a Social Justice Issue

Another COP is over. Despite the rhetoric to keep global warming to 1.5˚C, national pledges to address the climate crisis put us instead on track for an alarming global warming of about 2.4°C. Each year of delay in reducing global emissions means the task gets more challenging, and more costly for all of us. As the doors closed on COP26

Read More