Dalston Mill

This week’s gallery visits

Agnes Denes -Dalston Wheatfield –  This windy slope reminded me of when we were [young] building our house. We had a patch of grass about 3 ft square we brought home in the back of a landrover from North Staffordshire, to be the beginning of our garden. The rest of the site was ground up clinker which is just what this place is.

This patch of nearly full-grown wheat looks a bit like those clumps of hair you imagine they sew into a man’s bald head, or weave-on hair extensions which is appropriate for Dalston I suppose. The size of a London garden, you can see the curve of the railway junction from the shape of the buildings that once used to be beside it. The railway from Broadgate used to join the North London line in Matalan car park. The patch of wheat would have made much more impact in Matalan car park- a bit of a missed opportunity there. Madeleine Bunting’s article in the Guardian has already gleaned (get it?) enough comments but I half doubt if the motives for the wheatfield are about raising consciousness or being artistic.  As it is the only people I see going in are trendy local arty types in the know. For the passers-by there’s a tiny door and a yellow coated security guard by the peace mural.

They’re going to make bread out of the wheat I guess, there is a kitchen and a windmill and a DJ and a bar in the rain. Tweets from some real bread enthusiasts :

@collegegarden in Cambridge harvesting their 44m2 of bearded wheat Soisson & milling it to bake Local Loaves for Lammas

Off to 2000Trees tmrw, so remember – #followfriday @RealBread & on Sat, check out Dan Lepard at the Dalston Mill & CherryDay

Lammas means loaf-mass today. Are they going to say mass at the Dalston Wheatfield? That would round off the art-climate change confusion nicely.