An unseen world

While completing a PhD in molecular biology, Abid Javed was compelled to find a three-dimensional medium to communicate his research. Marrying molecular forms with Arabic script and geometry in his sculptures, Abid is bringing an unseen world into focus.

Images courtesy of Abid Javed

Abid, why did you choose ceramics and sculpture as a medium for communicating your work?

I wanted to initiate a dialogue, to create a connection between us and a biological world that is invisible to the naked eye. Sculpture was the obvious choice because of the shapes of the molecules I took as reference points, and the room for abstraction in sculpture design.

Can you tell us more about the nature of your studies in molecular biology? What were you researching?

For my PhD, I was looking at a molecular machine called the ribosome and how it is not only responsible for synthesising the basis of life (active proteins) but is also involved in folding proteins and giving them shape. This aspect of my research – looking at how proteins take shape – inspired the shapes and forms in my sculptures. I then went on to look at how viruses replicate their genome during their multiplication cycle. This introduced me to a whole new world of DNA and viruses, which triggered me to develop my current collection – Pleomorphs. I’m still actively involved in this research, which continues to inform my artwork.

Do you think there should be more of a multidisciplinary approach (such as the bridging of science and art, in your case) in the way we problem-solve and understand the world?

Yes. From my own experience, it shows that there can be a beneficial crossover between different disciplines. It just needs some guidance and development to make that bridge. During my research, I learned the benefits of multidisciplinary research early on, having to work with different methods and finding a way to integrate them. Also, a scientific mindset in design helps to understand the basis of materials and the processes that lead to the final object.

What do you love about working with clay?

The fact that it’s malleable. Also, that each clay body has its own character; it’s own way of working with it. That’s what I’ve come to love – mixing different materials and figuring out the best use for it when designing pieces. I also love the raw surface textures of the pieces after they’ve been fired.

How have the past 18 months or so changed your everyday rituals and rhythms?

My daily rhythm has definitely slowed down, which has allowed me to connect more with myself and my surroundings. Before the pandemic, I had a very busy working schedule, constantly commuting within the city and struggling to balance different aspects of my life. The lockdowns made life a little slower and a little more conscious for me. The benefits of this I can see in my day-to-day lowered stress levels, and I’m managing my time better. I’m not saying I don’t miss grabbing that morning flat white and heading to the office, but it’s a welcome change to move away from that ritual.

What is the next phase of your work?

I am currently developing my next phase entering the furniture design field. The idea is to explore and combine my sculptural forms and natural materials, and design objects in a way that would introduce the molecular world into living spaces. This would stem from my existing sculptural designs as well as building on some new work.

Aside from molecular biology, what inspires you?

My own cultural heritage, exploring Islamic arts and my Chinese cultural roots. I also find Japanese sensibilities quite attractive, being conscious of the natural world. And of course 20th-century art and design was a a sheer explosion of creativity I’m very inspired by.

Tell us about your studio/work space, how does it reflect you?

I’m currently in a shared studio space, where I have my own little corner. I’m not the most organised and neat person as I like to see my tools and references in front of me, but I do find getting organised before starting each piece afresh helps.

What's on your bedside table?

One of my sculptures, a paper lamp and some art and photographic monograph books to flick through.

Discover more of Abid’s work at abidjaved.org

Tregothnan

Photographer River Thompson discovers England’s only tea plantation and a small wooden box that revolutionised the horticultural world

Squint and I could be in the rainy uplands of Darjeeling. But no, I’m on British soil – Cornish soil – where acres of tea bushes thrive in the moist, warm air, on the banks of the River Fal. This is Tregothnan: Britain’s first and largest tea plantation.

As I wander around this vast estate I stumble upon overgrown greenhouses, relics of Tregothnan’s horticultural history, which extends much farther than its recent tea-growing eureka moment (they planted their first tea bush in 1999). The Boscawen family, who’ve lived on the estate since the 14th century, have nurtured generations of green-fingered pioneers with a passion for rare, exotic species. They were the first to grow ornamental camellias in Britain – it was observing them thrive and blossom earlier than they do in Darjeeling that prompted garden director Jonathon Jones to wonder if it would be the same for tea, or Camellia sinensis as it’s also known.

But how did zealous horticulturists bring their rare trophies, including tea, back to England, without them perishing on long voyages? The answer is a wooden and glass box known as a Wardian case. And Jonathon happened to find the world’s last surviving example, hidden since the 1850s, in the compost shed.

The case was designed by Nathaniel Bradshaw Ward in the late 1800s, when the British took tea plants from China to British India, during the opium wars. Wardian cases were sent abroad as flatpacks (they’re believed to be the first example of flatpack furniture), assembled in the field and filled with soil and plants. These travelling greenhouses revolutionised the tea market and helped make Britain the wealthiest nation on the planet.

The Wardian Case

The design of the Wardian case (right) was very simple. Plants inside were watered, moisture was drawn up through the roots and lost through the leaves, and the detachable shading let in enough light for the moisture to evaporate, condense on the glass then run back into the soil, keeping it moist. This method ensured the survival of the plants and safe transportation to British India and Britain.

River Thompson is a photographer based in London and Cornwall. His work explores craft, tradition and wilderness, and he shoots on a Hasselblad with colour film.

This article featured in our first issue (originally published in 2014), which we are reprinting as a special Collector’s Edition to celebrate seven years of publishing Ernest. Pre-order your copy on our store page.

Sourdough Library

Karl De Smedt has travelled to 50 countries on a quest for sourdough starters, to compile and study them at the Puratos Centre for Bread Flavour in Belgium. He invites us into his curious archive…

First thing’s first, Karl. Why?

One hundred and fifty years ago, bakers yeast was starting to be produced commercially. Comparatively, the sourdough process was very time-consuming, so most bakers abandoned it and the knowledge was lost. I feel that having a library where sourdough can be studied is an important contribution to the world of baking and fermentation.

Tell us bit more about yourself and your background.

I graduated from bakery and patisserie school in 1988. I worked for six years in a confectionary in Brussels before joining Puratos in 1994 as a test baker. That’s where I worked with sourdough for the first time. The sourdough dated to 1989, brought over by a colleague from San Francisco, as part of research to produce sourdough solutions for the company’s customers. You could say this sample was the very first sourdough in our collection.

Since 2008, I’ve been responsible for the Centre for Bread Flavour, a specialist branch at the forefront of the company’s sourdough production efforts, which handles clients from all over the world. It’s here we opened the sourdough library in 2013.

How unique can a final sourdough product be?

Very. We like to compare sourdough to cheese, where the main ingredient is milk, but there are so many different types of cheese, due to the origin of the milk, fermentation temperatures, the ageing, the producer etc.With sourdough, there’s just as much variety – in our library we’ve identified over 900 microorganisms from 108 starters.

I understand that the original creator of each starter also needs to donate yearly supplies of flour to the library for maintenance. So, will this change the outcome of the mix later on?

Indeed, we do ask for a supply of flour from the owners for their sourdough contributions. However, we do that to minimise the impact of change, a protocol recommended to us by Professor Marco Gobbetti from the University of Bolzano and Bari in Italy. We are well aware that the starters might be subject to change. But with Gobbetti’s protocol, the sourdough cultures are kept in optimum conditions to preserve them for longer; we have the micro-organisms stored in a freezer at -80°C and the sourdoughs themselves are stored at 4°C.

When a sourdough enters our library, it’s like taking a picture. We capture that moment – we have the composition of the sourdough at that point in time. That allows us to go back to the bakery after 5, 10 or 20 years to compare the two starters with each other and the original sample. There is no other place in the world that is doing this for sourdough. That’s why this library is so important to us.

Does the library undertake research into the microbes in the starters?

Yes, of course. Through DNA sequencing, we can define each and every microbe that we find in a starter. So far, we have identified more than 900 different ones. We do this in close collaboration with the universities we work with; Professor Gobbetti and his team have already been able to produce a couple of scientific publications as a result of our work together.

Any surprising finds on your quest?

In a starter from Switzerland, made from rye flour, and one from Guadalajara in Mexico, we found the same strain of yeast: Torulaspora delbreucki. It’s a strain often found in premium wines. The only relation we could see between the two is that the bakeries were located at about 1,500 metres altitude. Also, In Canada I met a lady who had a sourdough that dated back to 1896 – her great-grandfather carried it to Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush. I shared her recipe online so our followers could make her waffles.

The sourdough library isn’t open to the public, but Karl and his team are happy to provide tours on request. Find out more at questforsourdough.com

Interview: Matt Iredale

The Mail Train

Not so long ago, any letter or parcel landing on a doormat in London would have just disembarked from a surprising journey... underground.

Images courtesy of the Postal Museum

Stretching for 6.5 miles in a tunnel deeper than the Tube, the Mail Rail transported post between Whitechapel and Paddington for 75 years until its closure in 2003. Since then, the stalactite-filled
tunnels and abandoned platforms have lain dark and empty. Until now.

The Postal Museum in Clerkenwell has opened part of the Mail Rail to the public; running battery-powered passenger trains on a 20-minute subterranean tour. While the Mail Rail is undoubtedly the star attraction, the museum is a thigh-rubbing joy to wander itself, for its interactive displays (you get to sort post and put your face on a stamp) and fascinating insights into what has kept this great British institution ticking for so long. 

Open everyday (except 24-26 December) from 10am to 5pm. Last train departs at 4.30pm. Journey lasts 15 minutes. For more info, visit postalmuseum.org

The Mail Train features in issue 7 of Ernest Journal, on sale now.

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Essence + Alchemy: the relaunch

Lesley Bramwell of Essence + Alchemy spends a lot of her time in her laboratory mixing batches of rapeseed wax candles that crackle and smell of wild gardens and the sky above the clouds. We've spoken to her about her relaunch...

Lesley, tell us about what you've been up to in your laboratory the last few months.

It’s been a busy time, working on the E+A relaunch and designing the new store and products. I’m also in the process of designing and building a new garden laboratory. 

A garden laboratory, you say? Tell us more.

I was struggling to find a place in Sheffield that ticked all the boxes – clean, light, warm, nice view etc, so I decided to look into building a lab at home. My house is built on 1/3 acre – we have the space so it made perfect sense. 

Building starts end of July. A local timber frame company will erect the frame and my husband is finishing the external and internals. Hoping completion will be end of September.

It will have a dedicated lab store room, a desk area facing double doors onto the garden and lab area with benches under the windows facing the garden. Water used will be filtered and collected for reuse in the garden. 

The dream is to eventually grow and distill my own oils, which I can use in products. I like the idea of distilling my own rose essential oil but I might need to plant a few bushes before I can do that! 

What's been the inspiration behind your redesign?

The look of the brand has always been about my scientific background and the formula behind the name E+A.  I wanted a fresh and clean look that reflected this and with the help of local Sheffield designer Sean Coleman, I think this has been achieved - a combination of scientific text and pastel colours to reflect the natural scent of the products with a clean minimalist edge.  

Tell us about some of your new products.

There is a new handy travel size gold tin candle, great for popping into your bag or giving as a gift.  There are also candle refills for tea-light holders and large beaker candles and I’m also offering a candle refill service now whereby you can return your candle beaker for refilling.  

What is the candle club?

I created candle club to encourage the reuse of the large candle beaker and offer refills at discounted rates. Customers can either sign up to a 3 month or 6 month package and choose which candle scents they’d like and they also receive little gifts each month. 

What's on your bedside table?

A hardback copy of Culpeper’s Complete Herbal and an E+A Aroma Mist.  At the moment I’m using Unwind with lavender and sweet marjoram to help create a relaxing atmosphere before bedtime.  

This is a sponsored blog post, created in collaboration with Essence + Alchemy. Find out more about them in our Directory.