Wild Clay

I first went to The Community Apothecary in Chingford in 2023 with Mary Garvie, a gardener and trainee death doula. I wanted to use local clays for my Memento Mori objects and workshop. Since then, I've been making objects with this clay and firing them in my microwave at home.

Clay is one of the first materials humans ever shaped, and it has a special link to the human body. We often call different clays 'body' or 'the clay body', and both clay and blood have platelets. Throughout history, people have used clay to make containers for food and drink. This close connection with clay has left a mark on the human mind, as shown by the many creation stories from around the world that say humans were made from clay. These stories remind us of our deep tie to the earth - we come from it and go back to it.

The photos show the wild clay deposits near The Community Apothecary in Chingford. This clay is part of the London Clay Formation, which is the main source of clay in the area. It was formed between 56 and 47.8 million years ago. The close-up shots reveal the clay's detailed textures.

Looking at the link between clay and the human body helps us understand our bond with the earth and the materials that have shaped us.