2009-07-22
Dalston Mill Reviews
text 11:23:00
Two links, thanks to Tom Taylor.
For three weeks only, a windmill is operating in Dalston. It’s art, obviously. But it’s also a proper mill with blades and turny things and grindy bits and flour. And, because it’s essential to maintain sustainable credentials and ensure low food-miles, there’s even a cornfield alongside.
The bar was called Cucum’ (a name possibly just the right side of amusing), and it was frequented by trendy types with rakish looks. I was surprised how quickly this eco-installation had become the hangout of choice for various faddish folk, more usually spotted quaffing lager within a half mile of Hoxton Square.
You’ve got until August 6th to pop into to Dalston Mill for yourself. You may not stay long, not unless you get engrossed in one of the many artistic projects scheduled between now and then.
We Make Money Not Art: The Dalston Mill & Wheatfield
The field is basically a re-creation of the Manhattan field from 1982, but it’s much smaller and the backdrop is quite different, in that case an abandoned house and the Kingsland Shopping Centre, which is so absolutely puzzling in terms of style that it actually makes an intriguing and very London-like backdrop for the piece.
It all moves very slowly and does neither generate a lot of flour nor energy, but it’s fascinating to see how the attempt on creating a somewhat autonomous structure in the middle of a highly developed cityscape actually works and above all creates a very pleasant space around itself.
Posted here, and not on delicious, partly because I’ve talked about the mill and art here, and partly because it gives me more room to quote.
