Against the Grain

‘Against the Grain’ connects the aftermath of WWI with the effects of the current conflict in Ukraine. The delicate sculpture rests on a shelf and features one wheat stem, coppered from artillery casings gathered on former WWI battlefields. The wheat was gleaned in the autumn of 2022 from leftover crops cultivated on an agricultural field near Verdun, which is still filled with war remnants.

The dominance of Ukraine and Russia in grain markets such as wheat meant that the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 caused increased fears of a global food crisis. This led to increased wheat production in France and other countries worldwide, and to speculation in the grain market.

‘Against the Grain’ is part of the research project ‘Between the Lines,’ which focuses on the catastrophic effects of drought and climate change in the forests of the Zone Rouge in the northeast of France. It relates to the ongoing struggle to deal with the aftermath and remnants of the First World War within the global climate crisis, which impacted this particular landscape on a monumental scale.