Something & Son

Slow Disasters: the erosion of everyday landscapes Naming disasters changes the way we inhabit them. Not all disasters arrive as emergencies or visible collapse. Some unfold slowly and silently: in soils that lose fertility, in waters that alter their cycles, in the disappearance of native seeds, in the displacement of ingredients, and in the loss of the desire to care for the land. This is what we call Slow Disasters: a framework for remembering that food systems are living landscapes: territories where life is defended, imagined and renewed. To name them is to recognise that what sustains us is also what must be cared for. #SlowDisasters #LivingSoil #FoodLandscapes #LivingTerritories #RegenerativeFutures SoilMemory

Desastres Lentos: la erosión de los paisajes cotidianos Nombrar los desastres cambia la forma en que los habitamos. No todos los desastres llegan como emergencias o colapsos visibles. Algunos se despliegan lenta y silenciosamente: en suelos que pierden fertilidad, en aguas que alteran sus ciclos, en la desaparición de semillas nativas, en el desplazamiento de ingredientes y en la pérdida del deseo de cuidar la tierra. A esto lo llamamos Desastres Lentos: un marco para recordar que los sistemas alimentarios son paisajes vivos, territorios donde la vida se defiende, se imagina y se renueva. Nombrarlos es reconocer que aquello que nos sostiene es también aquello que debe ser cuidado. Este proyecto es producido por Looking Forward y Cocina Colaboratorio, con el apoyo de Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur y la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. #DesastresLentos #LivingSoil #FoodLandscapes #TerritoriosVivos #RegenerativeFutures MemoriaDelSuelo SlowDisasters

📢 Announcing: ‘Intertidal Exchange’ — an international exchange programme that brings together UK artist Andrew Merritt (of @somethingandson ) and Thai architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects ) to share their ongoing research into how informal architecture, sustainable building practices, and community action can respond to climate change. Andrew’s current project with Cement Fields, ‘Intertidal Allotment’, is creating a functional artwork and world-first shoreline community allotment on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Taking inspiration from the traditional allotment form, the project expands it into the intertidal zone, where tidal movements create a unique belt of biodiversity. Both a functional artwork and a co-created community asset, ‘Intertidal Allotment’ aims to create a sustainable modular system that responds to the needs of local people, supports Sheppey’s coastal ecology and is replicable in other locations. Chatpong has developed the concept of ‘bastard architecture’ — a form of vernacular architecture born of necessity, exemplified in his project ‘Angsila Oyster Scaffolding Pavilion’ in Chonburi province, Thailand, which literally builds upon the traditional bamboo scaffolding used for oyster cultivation to create a new community-owned space in the intertidal zone. Meanwhile, Chatpong’s ongoing project ‘Growing a New Rurbanism’, supported by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, is exploring new ways of developing Thailand’s rural and coastal areas through new economies linked to local ecology, industry, and craft. Through reciprocal residencies in the UK and Thailand, Andrew and Chatpong will come together to share their work, discussing their process, learnings and outcomes. Exploring the parallels between their projects, they will share approaches to embracing vernacular styles, using locally available materials, and nurturing social enterprise. Stay tuned to see more from the exchange. 🤝 ~~~~~~~~~~ ‘Intertidal Exchange’ is supported by the @britishcouncil through their Connections Through Culture grants programme.

Completing the trio of case studies for our From The Edge Symposium is Andrew Merritt’s long term project and functional artwork ‘Intertidal Allotment’. Throughout the day, we’ll explore community climate action and regenerative artistic practices through three live projects from across the UK. Round table conversations and panel discussions will bring together artists, curators, and communities at the forefront of reimagining the care of our environment in contested, liminal, and peripheral sites. 🌱 Andrew Merritt & Cement Fields | Intertidal Allotment One half of @somethingandson , Andrew’s work explores social and environmental issues via everyday scenarios, criss-crossing the boundaries between visual arts, architecture and activism. ‘Intertidal Allotment’ takes inspiration from the traditional allotment form and expands it into the intertidal zone — the area of the seashore covered at high tide and uncovered at low tide — to propose a world first coastal community allotment on the north shores of the Isle of Sheppey. Swipe to read more. 👉 The From The Edge symposium is fully booked but you can join the waitlist via our bio to be the first to hear if spaces become available. We can’t wait to welcome you to Sheppey on Thursday and dive into all three case studies with @granduniongallery and @threeriversbexley ! ~~~~~~~~~~ From the Edge is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund as part of ‘Intertidal Allotment’. ‘Intertidal Allotment’ is commissioned by Cement Fields and supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund. Delivered in partnership with Ideas Test, Swale Borough Council, Kent County Council, Sheppey Matters and University of Kent’s School of Anthropology and Conservation.

Our photos 📸 from Food for Landscapes at #designweeksouthafrica tell just a fraction of what happened last month in Cape Town. Andrew Merritt (@somethingandson ) and Loubie Rusch (@loubie_rusch ) brought four maps of the Lynedoch Valley to life, from deep past to near future, using taste, memory, and storytelling to understand how landscapes and food cultures have shifted over centuries and surfacing memories of land loss, hope, knowledge, and the possibility of change. Thank you to everyone who joined, spoke, drew, mapped, tasted, and held space with us + thanks to our partners @britishcouncil @britisharts @sustainability.institute @thisislookingforward @gaiaartfoundation . This is only the beginning! #FieldKitchen #FieldHospital #SlowDisasters #DesignWeekCapeTown #ArtAndEcology #FoodAndLandscape #CommunityVoices #LynedochValley #SouthAfrica

‘Intertidal Allotment’ is long-term project by Andrew Merritt (one half of @somethingandson ) ~ a functional artwork and new, world-first community allotment on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey. Over the last two years, Andrew has been researching and developing the concept, working towards creating a modular and sustainable system that improves biodiversity, responds to the needs of local people, and can be replicated in other coastal locations. The aim is to create a hospitable environment for animals and plants, but also for people to mix, and new ideas to seed and grow. Stay tuned for an update on our second wave of prototypes. 🌱 ~~~~~~~~~~ ‘Intertidal Allotment’ is commissioned by Cement Fields and supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund. Delivered in partnership with Ideas Test, Swale Borough Council, Kent County Council, Sheppey Matters and University of Kent’s School of Anthropology and Conservation.

🌊 Happy #WorldOceansDay! 🌊 Today we’re celebrating the brilliant and imaginative Seagrass Guns, a creative tool for marine restoration, first conceived by artists and environmental activists @somethingandson (Andy Merritt & Paul Smyth) 🙌🏾 🖼️ Originally commissioned by Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange for the climate-focused exhibition Storm Warning, the project ‘DIY Marine Restoration’ reimagined DIY tools, specifically mortar guns, as instruments to help replant vital seagrass meadows. Beautifully decorated and displayed in steel cabinets at The Exchange, these unique tools were more than just artworks; they were prototypes for real-world action.💥 After the show, they were donated to wildlife charities, including @cornwallwildlifetrust and are now used to sow seagrass seeds along our coastlines. 💫🪸 📹 Drone footage Lewis Jeffries : @lewismjefferies.camera 📷: Cornwall Wildlife Trust & Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange. #WorldOceansDay #WorldOceansDay2025 #SomethingAndSon #CornwallWildLifeTrust #FocalPointGallery #TheEchangePenzance #NewlynArtGallery #MarineConservation #SeaGrass #ProjectSeagrass - Storm Warning ran from 18 Nov 2023 – 13 Apr 2024 across Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange, in collaboration with @focalpointgallery , highlighting the climate crisis’ impact on coastal communities from Mount’s Bay to South Essex. The exhibition was made possible thanks to @artfund Reimagine grants and proudly supported by @waterhaul_co , who transforms ocean plastic into purposeful products that inspire change.

From December to April 2025 we were part of the group exhibition Soil at Somerset House. Our work Soil Kitchen filled the last room of the exhibition with hopeful soil repair solutions, a communal table and a playful sculpture where every part of an everyday kitchen was reimagined to create soil from scratch. Thank you @clairecatterall , @mayrosenthal , @clifflauson , @sophiepersson , @thelandgardeners and @somersethouse for featuring our work and for putting the exhibition on. SOIL: The World at Our Feet, Somerset House, 2025. Photographer Reinis Lismanis —— *Soil Kitchen, Mixed media, 2025* Something & Son (Andrew Merrit & Paul Smyth) Something & Son’s installation takes the form of a kitchen in which cooks are trying to create soil. In this kitchen the ingredients are rock, water, air and time. The recipe, for one of the most complex substances in the universe, is imperfect. Because we do not yet have the right tools or the right knowledge, perhaps we never will and shouldn’t try. The big kitchen called Earth operates beneath your feet and above your head, with immense energy and power, an expanse of time and a beautiful dance of weather, organisms and tectonics, to cook up millions of tonnes of soil, all whilst we sleep - without a kitchen appliance in sight.

A look back at our Biochar Seed Holder workshop at @ekc_sheppeycollege with material innovators @carbon_cell_co , as part of Intertidal Allotment: Materials Season. 🪨 In this hands on workshop students learned how to make seed holders using biochar, a carbon negative material, which reacts with heat to expand and form a porous, lightweight, but incredibly strong natural material. Carbon Cell is dedicated to providing a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic foams. The students heard from them about the technology they’ve developed and got to cook and drill out holders for Intertidal Allotment prototypes, to be installed in the shingle beach near Sheerness. ⛏️ Biochar is the result of pyrolising organic biomass, including agricultural waste, and as such is fully compostable. Each tonne of biochar can lock in up to 3.6 tonnes of CO2 for centuries. Learn more about Intertidal Allotment via the link in our bio. ~~~~~~~~~~ Cement Fields' 2025 Intertidal Allotment events programme invites people to explore ideas and test out materials for a new, world-first coastal community allotment on the north shores of the Isle of Sheppey – a functional artwork by Andrew Merritt of @somethingandson . Images by @wainwrightsam

Andrew Merritt of Something & Son also joins Cultural Reforesting! 🌱@somethingandson Exhibition opening 27 March “How do we (re)create flourishing forests full of food?” Andrew’s playful seed sculptures, shaped like packaged food, will decompose over time, sprouting edible and medicinal plants. His work rethinks our food systems, turning supermarket aisles into thriving ecosystems. Get involved before the exhibition opens! Join our seed-making workshops and be part of Andrew’s installation: Let’s Get Creative – Clay Fun!
Sunday 9 March | 🎨 Hands-on clay play for families (ages 4-11). Free & fun! Seed Sculpture Workshop
Thursday 13 March | 🌱 Help craft seed sculptures for Andrew’s growing artwork at Orleans House Gallery. Come shape the future—literally! 🔗Link in bio to book sessions #CulturalReforesting #SustainableArt #SeedSculptures #EcoArt #FoodForTheFuture #ArtAndNature #HandsOnArt

Work in progress for Intertidal Allotment prototypes! 🪨🌊 As part of our Wild Materials talk with @material_cultures next Sunday, Intertidal Allotment artist Andrew Merritt will also share his approach to choosing reclaimed, natural and bio-materials for the modular prototypes that will be installed on Sheppey’s coastline this spring. For this particular Rock Pool Ring prototype, Andrew was inspired by abandoned tyres found partially submerged along the beach on the north coast of Sheppey. The tyres appeared to naturally attract wildlife and encourage algae growth due to their irregular texture and enclosed shape, making them a perfect habitat for coastal flora and fauna. While Andrew’s design borrows from the form of these tyre rock pools, it replaces the synthetic rubber they’re made from, which releases microplastics and pollutes the water, with a natural and sustainable cement derived from limestone. Our Rock Pool Ring Workshop is sold out but you can still join us in Sheerness next Sunday to learn more from Andrew and also hear from Daria Moatazed-Keivani, a core member of the pioneering design and research practice @material_cultures . Wild Materials Talk with Material Cultures & Andrew Merritt (@somethingandson ) 🌿 → Sunday 23 February, 11:00-12:30 → Sheppey Little Theatre, Sheerness This is a free event - book via the link in our bio. 🔗 ~~~~~~~~~~ Wild Materials is part of the wider project Intertidal Allotment. Cement Fields' 2024-2025 Intertidal Allotment events programme invites people to explore ideas and test out materials for a new, world-first coastal community allotment on the north shores of the Isle of Sheppey – a functional artwork by artist Andrew Merritt.

We are delighted to be kicking off our Intertidal Allotment: Materials Season in Sheerness on 23 February with Wild Materials ~ a talk from Daria Moatazed-Keivani, a core member of the pioneering design and research practice @material_cultures , to hear about the ways they are transforming our built environment with natural and regenerative materials in solidarity with our landscape. 🪵⚒️🌿 Material Cultures are not only designers, researchers and builders, they are strategic thinkers at the forefront of innovative material choice and low embodied carbon construction. They challenge the materials, supply chains and building systems, that make up our globally sourced, carbon-intensive construction industry - an industry that accounts for a staggering 60% of all waste generated in the UK. They’re pushing for a move away from this culture of extraction, and advocating for a transition towards a regenerative and socially-just approach to land management practices. We’ll also be hearing from Intertidal Allotment artist Andrew Merritt of @somethingandson , who will share his approach to choosing materials for the prototypes that will be installed on Sheppey’s coastline. These prototypes will be made from a mixture of reclaimed and natural materials along with some newly-developed biomaterials. Book your free spot via the link in our bio. 📌 ~~~~~~~~~~ Wild Materials is part of the wider project Intertidal Allotment. Cement Fields' 2024-2025 Intertidal Allotment events programme invites people to explore ideas and test out materials for a new, world-first coastal community allotment on the north shores of the Isle of Sheppey – a functional artwork by artist Andrew Merritt. 1 ~ Wolves Lane taken by Henry Woide 2&3 ~ Growing Space by Henry Woide 4 ~ Wolves Lane by Michael Sabuni 5&6 ~ Material Cultures office by Stephanie Sian Smith 7&8 ~ Intertidal Allotment species by Andrew Merritt 9 ~ Andrew Merritt by Nicol Vizioli 10&11 ~ Seaweeds and Their Secrets by Nicol Vizioli