Or, there are artists addressing urbanism as the mise-en-scène for addressing social relationships relating to Globalism. There is also a tendency to focus on urbanism as a failed Utopia, where Modernism becomes a cipher for naiveté, easy judgements ignoring any transhistoticism.

By contrast, Spectral Metropole examines the work of a handful of artists where complex and visceral ideas of an urban culture after Modernism are implicit – even when this is not the core intention of the work – that introduce the idea of spectral associations and historic residues that become more important to informing our current histories of "the urban". Often in contrast to the stated rationalism of Modernism, their works evoke the metropolitan through a lyrical, intuitive triggering of meanings and associations that often contradict the seemingly pragmatic tenets of mainstream Modernism arising in the twentieth century.
—Ken Pratt

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Carla Arocha (1961) and Stephane Schraenen (1971) have been working together since 2007. Their solo exhibitions and projects include Koraalberg Projects, Antwerp; Vegas Gallery, London; Arte Contemporaneo, Periferico, Caracas; Andre Schlechtriem Contemporary, New York. Amongst their group exhibitions are projects at Bozar, Brussels; Espai d’Art Contemporani de Castello, Castello; Ambika P3, London; and Hessenhuis, Antwerp. They live and work in Antwerp.

Jasmina Cibic (1979) graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice (2003) and gained an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in London (2006). She has exhibited her work at various group exhibitions and solo shows (among others at Škuc Gallery, 2011; the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, 2009; Maribor Art Gallery, 2008; International Festival of Contemporary Arts – City of Women, Ljubljana, 2008; Künstlerhaus Graz, 2007; Goldsmiths College, London, 2006; Bevilacqua la Masa, Venice, 2005; Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 2004). She lives and works between Ljubljana and London.

Michelle Deignan (1970) graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin (1992) with a BFA in sculpture. She has since completed postgraduate studies at the School of Media and Imaging in Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art Dundee, Scotland and at the Visual Arts Department of Goldmiths College, London. Her video, digital and photographic works have been exhibited at various national and international exhibitions and festivals including New Work UK – Trust Yourself, Whitechapel Gallery, London; Europart – New Contemporary Art from Europe, Vienna; transmediale.08, House of Cultures, Berlin; Sunday Screening, Milton Keynes Gallery, UK; Film Programme 1, Badischer Kunstverein, Karlsruhe; Black Box Programme at the Edinburgh Film Festival. She lives and works in London.

Martin Fletcher Systems House (1974) graduated from the Nottingham Trent University (BA Fine Art 1997) and gained an MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths College in London (2006). His works have been exhibited internationally at solo exhibitions in galleries Michael Janssen, Berlin; Gallerie Nicolas Silin, Paris; Gallerie s.e., Bergen and at group exhibitions in the Central House of Arts, Moscow; ICA, London; The Saatchi Gallery, London; The Hermitage, St. Petersburg; Victoria Miro, London, The Henry Moore Institute, Leeds; the Barbican Gallery, the Chisenhale Gallery, London and the Hayward Gallery, London. He lives and works between London and Moscow.

Alex Hudson (1979) gained an MA in Painting at Wimbledon College of Art (2007). His exhibitions include Golden Mean, Vegas Gallery, London; Apopcalypse Now, Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam and In Case We Don't Die, Helene Nyborg Contemporary, Copenhagen. He has been a nominee for the Jerwood Contemporary Painters award (2009) and featured in the Bloomberg New Contemporaries (2008). He lives and works in London.

Sadie Murdoch (1965) received her phD at Leeds Metropolitan University and graduated from the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program (2004). Her interdisciplinary practice spins from painting to video and her works have been presented at solo exhibitions at the Apartment Gallery, Athens; the Agency Gallery, London and at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. Her group exhibitions include the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; Timothy Taylor Gallery, London; Redux, London; Norwich Gallery, Norwich; Cubitt, London and Taipei National Fine Art Museum, Taipei. She lives and works in London.

Ken Pratt is a curator and writer whose practice spans the arenas of contemporary art, creative publishing and innovative means of cultural production. He was previously both the Intendant for the gallery space of the Dutch Embassy in London and Adjunct Curator at MAMA, Rotterdam. As an independent curator, he has curated shows for European museums and institutions amongst which are the first Luc Tuymans solo exhibition in Scandanavia at Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium in Norway, a sprawling project with the Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch and two other institutions and the 2008 joint Dutch/Flemish exhibition for the biennial London Festival of Architecture. He also established Projector Art Fair whilst at MAMA which now operates as Trajector Art Fair in Brussels, showcasing the work of international non-profits and independent project spaces. He is the curator of the invited artist’s projects for one of the largest public art initiatives of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. 2012 will also see him once again curate the joint Dutch/Flemish contribution to the London Festival of Architecture and undertake a number of museum exhibitions in Scotland. He lives and works in London.