A paean to the linseed, each Volume of the publication is themed around an organic material with enduring cultural significance.
A material which continues to nourish and inspire, at the confluence of the human and natural worlds.
LINSEED is a journal of cultural entanglement
In part, a tapestry: stitching through geographic boundaries and historical divides. A patchwork: gathering texture from near and far.
Come winter, a tangled thicket, twitching with quiet curiosity. In summer a dancing stream, cool currents in its depths.
Its maker knows not the length of thread required, nor the appearance of its final pattern. Still, they stitch: preserving remnants of lives lived; darning holes in our collective memory.
It chases the contemporary moment, mapping a constellation of ideas. And it hunts for our heritage, yielding a wellspring of unspoken wisdom.
An almanac of seasonal graft, and a larder of local lore.
Linseed, flax, Linum usitatissimum
A flowering plant, whose blue blooms last only one day
Cultivated as food and fodder on all arable continents, thriving on poor soil
The natural source of linen —a symbol of light and life, some of the oldest worn cloth in the world. A textile used for bags, towels, sail cloth and painter canvases; the thread of book-binders and ropemakers
The stuff of linseed oil — used by oil painters and carpenters, as varnish for cricket bats and on floors as linoleum
In Latin, linseed translates as ‘most useful’, for its unrivalled versatility amongst crops
And the ancient Egyptians named it "woven moonlight", due to its singular beauty