Ballardian

‘You call this a nation?’ Approaching Sealand (photo: Simon Sellars).

While we’re on the subject of interstitial architecture, the concept of micronations could be said to be an example, especially when old, forgotten and disused structures slip through the cracks of nationalism. Sealand, a WWII gun platform in the North Sea, is perhaps the most (in)famous micronation and I had the unsettling experience of visiting it in May this year.

I wrote a travel piece on my journey for the Australian newspaper a few weeks back and that’s now appeared online. My photos weren’t used, so I’ve reproduced a couple below.

I’ve been developing a Ballardian perspective on micronations for some time now, delivering a paper at the Ballard conference in East Anglia earlier this year that made tentative steps towards exploring the connection. The paper was directly inspired by the answers I gave to Geoff Manaugh when he interviewed me over at BLDGBLOG last year, a conversation discussing the 2006 Lonely Planet micronations book I was involved in. Geoff’s last question to me was ‘How does this work intersect with your interest in J.G. Ballard?’, and that’s what kicked it all off, really.

I’ve refrained from posting too much on Ballardian.com about this area of interest, as I’m waiting to find out if my paper is being accepted for print publication. Once I know either way, I’ll be able to: post the paper here if not, or drum up a different version if yes.

Me on board Sealand (photo: Simon Sellars).

Sealand crew (photo: Simon Sellars).

..:: MORE INFO
+ Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations
+ Geoff’s BLDGBLOG interview with me
+ My travel piece, ‘Sealand: On the Heap’, published in the Australian newspaper, and reproduced online