Mark Pilkington (writer)
Encyclopedia
Mark Pilkington is a writer, publisher, curator and musician with particular interest in the fringes of knowledge, culture and belief.
He has written two books, Mirage Men (2010) and Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science's Outer Edge (2007). The latter collects the Far Out science articles Pilkington wrote for The Guardian
newspaper between 2003 and 2005.
For Mirage Men (also an unfinished film) Pilkington and John Lundberg
travelled to America in search of the truth behind the UFO enigma. As they spoke to intelligence agents, disinformation specialists and UFO hunters the pair began to suspect that instead of covering-up stories of crashed spacecraft, alien contacts and secret underground bases for the past 60 years, the US intelligence agencies had been promoting them all along, as part of Cold War psychological warfare and counter-intelligence programmes.
Pilkington's writing has also been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including The Anomalist
, Fortean Times
, Frieze
, Sight & Sound
, The Wire
, the Time Out Book of London Walks Vol.2 and London Noir
He has broadcast on Resonance FM
, both as a guest, hosting Strange Attractor On Air, and DJing for the Kosmische Club. He has also given presentations to groups, conventions and festivals including Fortean Times Unconvention, Supersonic Festival
, London Lore Conference, Litro and Skeptics in the Pub
.
Pilkington runs Strange Attractor Press and edits its anthology, Strange Attractor Journal. Other books published by SAP include Medical London by Richard Barnett and Mike Jay, Welcome to Mars by Ken Hollings, Austin Osman Spare
by Phil Baker and The Field Guide by Rob Irving and John Lundberg
.
As a curator Pilkington has organised events at London venues including the Horse Hospital
, the Theosophical Society
, Conway Hall and Barnes Wetland Centre. As well as numerous Strange Attractor events from 2001 (initially with John Lundberg
) to 2004, he has collaborated on larger projects including Pestival
(2006, with Bridget Nicholls) and Megalithomania (2002, with Neil Mortimer of Third Stone Magazine
). In 2010 Pilkington curated the Strange Attractor Salon at Viktor Wynd Fine Art in London, an exhibition involving over twenty artists and a programme of talks, performance, music and film.
Pilkington has also played electronics and synthesisers with improvising and experimental musical groups including Raagnagrok, Disinformation, Urthona, The Stargazer's Assistant, High Mountain Tempel, The Stëllä Märis Dronë Örchësträ, Yan Gant y Tan, Indigo Octagon and solo as The Asterism. He has appeared on two CDs by High Mountain Tempel, The Glass Bead Game and Pilgrimage to Thunderbolt Pagoda, Circuit Blasting by Strange Attractor vs Disinformation and Murmurations by Urthona and the Asterism.
He has written two books, Mirage Men (2010) and Far Out: 101 Strange Tales from Science's Outer Edge (2007). The latter collects the Far Out science articles Pilkington wrote for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper between 2003 and 2005.
For Mirage Men (also an unfinished film) Pilkington and John Lundberg
John Lundberg
John Lundberg is an English artist and documentary filmmaker. In the early 1990s he founded circlemakers, a UK based arts collective famous for covertly creating hundreds of the world's largest and most elaborate crop circles....
travelled to America in search of the truth behind the UFO enigma. As they spoke to intelligence agents, disinformation specialists and UFO hunters the pair began to suspect that instead of covering-up stories of crashed spacecraft, alien contacts and secret underground bases for the past 60 years, the US intelligence agencies had been promoting them all along, as part of Cold War psychological warfare and counter-intelligence programmes.
Pilkington's writing has also been published in numerous magazines and anthologies, including The Anomalist
The Anomalist
right|The Anomalist #1The Anomalist is a magazine of anomalous phenomena, edited by Patrick Huyghe. Its first issue came out in June 1994....
, Fortean Times
Fortean Times
Fortean Times is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing and then I Feel Good Publishing , it is now published by Dennis Publishing Ltd. As of December 2010, its circulation was approximately 18,000...
, Frieze
Frieze (magazine)
-Publication:frieze is published eight times a year and is based in London. As well as essays, exhibition reviews and columns by forward-thinking writers, artists, critics and curators, the magazine includes music reviews, artist projects, interviews and sections on design and...
, Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
, The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
, the Time Out Book of London Walks Vol.2 and London Noir
He has broadcast on Resonance FM
Resonance FM
Resonance 104.4 FM is a London based non-profit community radio station run by the London Musicians' Collective .The station is staffed by four permanent staff members, including programme controller Ed Baxter and over 300 volunteer technical and production staff.Until September 2007, ResonanceFM...
, both as a guest, hosting Strange Attractor On Air, and DJing for the Kosmische Club. He has also given presentations to groups, conventions and festivals including Fortean Times Unconvention, Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival
Supersonic Festival is a yearly music festival in Birmingham featuring a combination of music, art, film and and other crafts. It continues to join boundaries between music and art, by inviting people to engage with both through a programme of avant garde sound and performance as well as hands-on...
, London Lore Conference, Litro and Skeptics in the Pub
Skeptics in the Pub
Skeptics in the Pub is an informal social event designed to promote fellowship and social networking among skeptics, critical-thinkers, and other like-minded individuals...
.
Pilkington runs Strange Attractor Press and edits its anthology, Strange Attractor Journal. Other books published by SAP include Medical London by Richard Barnett and Mike Jay, Welcome to Mars by Ken Hollings, Austin Osman Spare
Austin Osman Spare
Austin Osman Spare was an English artist who developed idiosyncratic magical techniques including automatic writing, automatic drawing and sigilization based on his theories of the relationship between the conscious and unconscious self...
by Phil Baker and The Field Guide by Rob Irving and John Lundberg
John Lundberg
John Lundberg is an English artist and documentary filmmaker. In the early 1990s he founded circlemakers, a UK based arts collective famous for covertly creating hundreds of the world's largest and most elaborate crop circles....
.
As a curator Pilkington has organised events at London venues including the Horse Hospital
Horse Hospital
The Horse Hospital is an arts venue in central London, England, which caters for literary and spoken word events, underground film and avantgarde media screenings, and visual art exhibitions...
, the Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
, Conway Hall and Barnes Wetland Centre. As well as numerous Strange Attractor events from 2001 (initially with John Lundberg
John Lundberg
John Lundberg is an English artist and documentary filmmaker. In the early 1990s he founded circlemakers, a UK based arts collective famous for covertly creating hundreds of the world's largest and most elaborate crop circles....
) to 2004, he has collaborated on larger projects including Pestival
Pestival
Pestival is an international arts festival dedicated to ‘insects in the arts and the art of being an insect'. Pestival won the 2010 Observer Ethical Award in Conservation, and currently has a three year residency at ZSL London Zoo....
(2006, with Bridget Nicholls) and Megalithomania (2002, with Neil Mortimer of Third Stone Magazine
3rd Stone
3rd Stone is a defunct British magazine devoted to "archaeology, folklore and myth" and dealing with Earth mysteries. It was originally published under the title of Gloucestershire Earth Mysteries magazine, founded by Danny Sullivan in the mid-1980s, and the name was changed to 3rd Stone magazine...
). In 2010 Pilkington curated the Strange Attractor Salon at Viktor Wynd Fine Art in London, an exhibition involving over twenty artists and a programme of talks, performance, music and film.
Pilkington has also played electronics and synthesisers with improvising and experimental musical groups including Raagnagrok, Disinformation, Urthona, The Stargazer's Assistant, High Mountain Tempel, The Stëllä Märis Dronë Örchësträ, Yan Gant y Tan, Indigo Octagon and solo as The Asterism. He has appeared on two CDs by High Mountain Tempel, The Glass Bead Game and Pilgrimage to Thunderbolt Pagoda, Circuit Blasting by Strange Attractor vs Disinformation and Murmurations by Urthona and the Asterism.