graham road
A cyanotype print on organic cotton, april 2022
50x120cm, £200
Exhibited as part of The Wild Collective Exhibition at OmVed Gardens, London
50x120cm, £200
Exhibited as part of The Wild Collective Exhibition at OmVed Gardens, London
The work aims to highlight the potentials of ‘leftover’ spaces - sidewalks, rail tracks, edges, vacant spaces - fragments which are often overlooked yet embedded in the fabric of cities and people’s lives. They are everywhere - we pass by, through or over them everyday, although often ignored. Some are more persistent than others, some are situated in sites in which they can afford to grow, to thrive.
Compared to the manicured public spaces within a fast-growing city, these pockets can be seen as a celebration of the untamed - these territories may serve as subtle reminders of pure natural processes of growth, migration and decay. Just like the buildings erected, the people present and the events that happen within, the presence of untamed nature occupying leftover spaces also contributes to a place’s narrative. Even in areas characterised by redevelopment, undefined pockets still exist, and within these discrete fragments, no matter how big or small, nature is presented with the opportunity to thrive.
These ecologies can be seen as one of the remaining links to the untamed in our cities. By appreciating them for their resilience, beauty and unpredictability, these serve as reminders of beauty and growth after trauma or decay, and highlight the importance of intersections and exchange - values which should be extracted from nature and applied to ways of designing our cities and our ways of life.
This piece serves as a continuation from the research carried out in 2021 regarding the potentials of third landscapes in cities and methods of representing them. The full essay can be read here.
‘Graham Road’ was one of the chosen artworks to be displayed at The Wild Collective, a collaborative exhibition nurturing creative responses to nature. Curated for the Chelsea Fringe 2022 by Thrown Contemporary and Meta Fleur, the exhibition ran from 13th - 29th May 2022 in the glasshouse and gardens of Omved Gardens, Highgate.
Compared to the manicured public spaces within a fast-growing city, these pockets can be seen as a celebration of the untamed - these territories may serve as subtle reminders of pure natural processes of growth, migration and decay. Just like the buildings erected, the people present and the events that happen within, the presence of untamed nature occupying leftover spaces also contributes to a place’s narrative. Even in areas characterised by redevelopment, undefined pockets still exist, and within these discrete fragments, no matter how big or small, nature is presented with the opportunity to thrive.
These ecologies can be seen as one of the remaining links to the untamed in our cities. By appreciating them for their resilience, beauty and unpredictability, these serve as reminders of beauty and growth after trauma or decay, and highlight the importance of intersections and exchange - values which should be extracted from nature and applied to ways of designing our cities and our ways of life.
This piece serves as a continuation from the research carried out in 2021 regarding the potentials of third landscapes in cities and methods of representing them. The full essay can be read here.
‘Graham Road’ was one of the chosen artworks to be displayed at The Wild Collective, a collaborative exhibition nurturing creative responses to nature. Curated for the Chelsea Fringe 2022 by Thrown Contemporary and Meta Fleur, the exhibition ran from 13th - 29th May 2022 in the glasshouse and gardens of Omved Gardens, Highgate.
This print was created on a large piece of cotton fabric on a very important day in April. It was a day which signified growth and change, as I signed a new contract for a new home on Graham Road in Hackney , as new projects emerged and as Spring started to make London incredibly beautiful.
All flowers used for the print were those blooming on Graham Road’s sidewalk, in small cracks and crevices which are always overlooked.
All flowers used for the print were those blooming on Graham Road’s sidewalk, in small cracks and crevices which are always overlooked.
