The Invisible Palm

On March 31st, plotholders across the UK were allowed to return to their allotments. The land arranged in neat grids provided plotholders the ideal, socially distanced conditions to escape from the stress of the pandemic.

The allotments provided relief and escape to the plot holders whatever their circumstances. This allowed them to spend time outside, grow their own food and have something other than the lockdown to focus on. Unsurprisingly, the plots are subject to extraordinary demand, the waiting list can be as long as seven years – those who received a plot during the months of lockdown counted themselves especially lucky.

With air travel almost halted and far fewer vehicles on the road, the skies above London had never seemed clearer. For those lucky enough to have access, spending the long summer months or a few borrowed hours on their plots, have provided a welcome haven.

An Allotment reflects one aspect of life during lockdown: finding moments for optimism, calm and stability.

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book/kickstarter - Hannah and Jimmy have launched a Kickstarter to raise funds to produce a photobook of the series. With just a couple of weeks to go they are almost over the line… please consider supporting this project, to see this wonderful series in print. A mock up of the book can be seen below…

You Don’t Look Native to Me by Maria Sturm

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“Cornucopia” (horn of plenty), is a personal artistic research on the Lassithi plateau’s elusive identity. Lassithi plateau, situated at 840m ASL on the island of Crete, is a natural fortress with a particularly fertile land, surrounded by mountains. First inhabited during the Neolithic age, it became a major cult place of the Minoan civilization. This rich land which has nourished the inhabitants of Crete for centuries, is the same place that according to the myth, Zeus was born in a cave and according to another myth is the bridal bed of Europa. The plateau, similar to other Greek rural areas, has been under economic stress long before the generalized crisis. Young people are fleeting away, and the population is shrinking.

Being part of a continent that gallops towards an unknown future, we investigate the contemporary imagery of a lost link, that is part of the core mythology of Europe, seeking the possibility of the existence of a place’s resilient identity, that can only be found in the verge of the imaginary. As reflective practitioners, we persistently confront our experiences of this place, while shaping an unintended path that is open to interpretation.

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