The riots are three months gone and its shopping season in London town. Consumerism rules the headlines and headaches where just a few weeks earlier locals incorrectly blamed gangs for the most devastating riots in recent history. As London spends and heals and spins its heels, Peckham, an area that was heavily effected by these days in August, has gotten a facelift in its shop windows. Peckham Space has launched an exhibition called Through The Peckham Glass, in which six shop windows on Peckham High Street are temporarily curated/designed by local artists.
Adam Walker, having seen Matthew McGuinness’ first Britain solo show at Bearspace in Deptford, invited the artist and chef to submit a proposal to Through The Peckham Glass, on view through 6 January, 2012. Wedged between the messes of the riots and Christmas in equal measure, Through the Peckham Glass reflects back on the city-goer the creativity that pervades southeast London. Peckham Space fittingly chose Sally Butcher’s wonderful shop, Persepolis on Peckham High Street, for Matt McGuinness and Gourmandizing, a community artwork focused on the evolving culinary traditions of southeast London. Persepolis is a jewel on the high street of this south London hamlet where east, west, north and south connect in food, fabric, art and culture. It’s the perfect canvas for Gourmandizing and a wonderful match as the shop is a hub for the culinary creative, which often times is paired with the cultural intrigue. Especially true as Sally has published a new cookbook, entitled Veggiestan, which is a state of being, a fictitious land near and far from her, now local, Peckham.
As a bonus, community members are asked to share their recipes and traditions with Gourmandizing on recipe cards available at Persepolis and on the Gourmandizing website, here. Share yours now, by emailing gourmandizelondon@gmail.com. The recipe cards are the community face of Gourmandizing and serve as a vehicle for people to engage one another and assess their own gastronomic habits and delights. Look out for Gourmandizing in the new year on their website and Facebook page.
McGuinness’ offering to Through the Peckham Glass out shines the sun, glowing behind the drawling foot and motor traffic framed in bright yellow. Six large, very large plate glass windows are stocked to the brim, as if the window itself is holding them back - canned goodies spices, middle eastern cooking aperati, charcoal, bags of rice and taped up slogans of peace, action and diversity collage the panorama. A perfect match for Matt, who got to work over the course of a week to fill the windows into Persepolis with two illustrated recipes from Veggiestan. The result is delicious visual magic.
Through the Peckham Glass arrives on the London high street as we all hustle through the cold, incessantly searching for what moves us, what keeps us connected and what fills our tummies and hearts. As the city comes to understand its failings in the shadow of the riots, Through the Peckham Glass and Gourmandizing offers participants a bit of warmth and reflection. And it is a hint of what is to come in 2012. Keep in touch, share your recipes, find Gourmandizing on Facebook and Flickr and look out for new and exciting happenings on the Gourmandizing website.
