Dear Supporter,

Hello, and welcome. I’m so glad you found your way here. As I mentioned in my email, this post isn’t exactly private, more hidden by obscurity. My hope is that it is a way to give you something without needing you to sign up or log in or whatever.

The Mishka Henner image that I really liked was the one you see above, of Black Diamond Feedyard in Herington, Kansas. It just seemed such an unlikely shape for a massive cattle-feeding operation. But of course, there’s a story behind it …

You can see the site for yourself at 38.692°N, 96.800°W and you will notice something odd if you do; the main runway (at the top of the diamond photo) is actually on the west side of the site. So the image isn’t, precisely, upside down. It is just rotated through 90°.

What I didn’t realise, until I came to research this little piece, is that Black Diamond is probably less damaging than the huge feedlots, and not only because it is smaller. You can read more in this profile of the operation.

All the best

Jeremy

This will be a test post to see whether I can in fact restrict access by obscurity more than anything else.

I had to jump through a load of hoops to get here, but it was worth it.

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Bologna likes to think of itself as the pinnacle of food culture in Italy, so it is a bit of a wonder that it took until the 5th edition of the Biennial of Photography on Industry and Work to focus attention on food. All of the 11 exhibitions were really interesting and well curated, not least because they were often in glorious spaces that are not normally open to the public, resulting in some very fine cultural juxtapositions. But there was one that really caught my eye because it offered literally a new view of the foundations of America’s appetite for cheap beef. Almost as soon as I got home I arranged to chat to the artist, Mishka Henner, about his work.

Notes

1. Mishka Henner’s work is at his website and you can follow him on Instagram. There’s also a profile of him in The New York Times.
2. All the images are taken from Mishka Henner’s originals.
3. Extra music started with a track from Jack Bailey.
4. Transcript now available.

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Down the River Tiber from Rome is the huge archaeological site of Ostia Antica, which used to be the main port for the city. It’s all ruins now, of course, and open to the elements, but still incredibly suggestive. As you stroll around under the umbrella pines, it’s hard not to daydream about what things might have been like a couple of thousand years ago. In my case, with very little formal education in the matter, those daydreams are pretty foggy. When I get to something I know a little about, like a bakery, the fog clears a bit and I can begin to see some details.

With a real expert, however, things really come to life, so I was absolutely delighted to be able to visit the Mulino di Silvano at Ostia with Farrell Monaco, who has studied, and brought back to life, the canonical bread of Ancient Rome.

She brought the bakery back to life for me. It was a total treat.

Notes

1. Farrell Monaco’s website is at Tavola Mediterranea and she’s on Twitter and Instagram too.
2. Photos taken by me, on site.
3. Additional music by staticpony1, messed about with a bit.
4. Yes, there is a transcript.

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