Earth Food Life

Earth Food Life

Earth Food Life is a series of small-batch preserves inspired by the 2018 exhibition The Land We Live In, The Land We Left Behind at Hauser & Wirth, Somerset. During that exhibition I placed a selection of Ash panel bookmarks within the honesty shop, and the ideas explored there — particularly the relationship between land, labour and sustenance — have stayed with me.

I was struck by works that reflected how earlier settlers produced, processed and preserved food as a matter of necessity. The exhibition prompted me to consider how such acts of making — practical, seasonal and rooted in place — might also sit within an artistic context.

I have made preserves for many years. The process mirrors aspects of my wider practice: working with what is available, responding to season and landscape, and allowing material to guide outcome. Growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing food becomes part of a wider reflection on land, care and continuity.

On this page are images of preserves made from home-grown produce. Each batch is small and varies according to season and flavour. Labelling them as “limited edition” is both playful and sincere — acknowledging the particularity of each making.

For me, these preserves are not separate from my art practice, but an extension of it — a quiet intersection between everyday life and creative thought.

Above: Bread and Butter Chutney — an everyday preserve made from what was to hand, shaped by season and availability.

Above: Fig and wine preserve — combining deeper, more decadent ingredients to create a surprisingly delicate preserve, each jar individually numbered.

Home grown apples and plums,  picked and ready for making

Above: Blackcurrant liqueur, steeped slowly from home-grown fruit, reminiscent of cassis.

Above: Fire ash bookmarks (over 900 in total), some of which were placed in the honesty shop at The Land We Live In, The Land We Left Behind, Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, for visitors to take.