After graduating from Glasgow School of Art in the mid-90s, Tompkins and fellow students Will Bradley, Chris Evans, Robert Johnston, formed the band Life Without Buildings, releasing their debut album Any Other City on Tugboat in 2001. In the same year, Tompkins held her first solo show as a visual artist at the Modern Institute in Glasgow and took part in group shows at the ZKM, Karlsruhe, and St. Vincent St, Glasgow. In 2003, her groundbreaking early performance Country Grammar showcased the freewheeling, freespirited fusion of word and voice and movement that has characterised, albeit with considerable developments, ever since.
–Robert Barry