Mia Matthew

From the perspective of the rice field, in the second phase of its harvest. People are free to walk between the field when travelling between the two halves of the site. The paddy sits itself in the Lee Valley landscape with untamed green not restricted by man-made fixtures. As people become more empowered by the integration of the scheme with the natural waterways onsite, adopting the methods of rice cultivation in Vietnam currently threatened by climate change, this will become a new area of productive land in a place known as the Cucumber Capital.

The Underground Inn

The culinary school explored in this body of work is through the lens of black hair, style and structure; a key part of the way in which not only the members of the Windrush Generation established business and a place along the High Road to shelter, socialise and connect with others going through similar rejection, alienation and isolation upon arriving to London.

The space’s daytime and night-time contrasting uses
reflects the multi-purpose hubs of informal gathering by which Caribbeans, when they first arrived to the UK during Windrush, created havens of culture in the most unlikely of settings.

Continuing Caribbean cooking traditions through a below ground outdoor culinary space.

The hair shops were and continue to be an act of resilience, the ability of minorities to self sustain against hardships and the emphasis of the underground; the overlooked members of society operating in small communities to flourish regardless of their maltreatment. Much like black hair care; the hair doesn’t need to be tended to everyday it is self reliant.

This culinary school seeks to facilitate fusion; not like performative events to self-contain food diversity within highly curated spaces like Borough Market, but rather organic spaces that form as a response to a need not being met by government funding.