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We’re supporting artist Andrew Merritt’s long-term project, @slowdisasters, which brings together art, food and ecological research to explore how damaged landscapes might be restored.

Here, we revisit a selection of earlier projects that trace the ideas and questions that continue to inform his work today.

Image: Intertidal Allotment, prototype, Sheerness, 2025. Photo: James Buttenshaw

Intertidal Allotment, 2023-31

Merritt’s long-term project is a functional artwork on the Isle of Sheppey taking the form of a community allotment in the intertidal zone where sea and land meet.

Image: ‘Intertidal Allotment (Seaweeds and Their Secrets with lan Tittley), 2024. Photo: Nicol Vizioli

Now beginning its full-scale version, the aim of ‘Intertidal Allotment’ is to develop a modular and sustainable system of structures and allotment
‘plots’ that improve biodiversity, respond to the needs of local people, and which can be replicated in other coastal locations, with Merritt currently exploring expanding the project to the Bay of Bangkok.

Image: ‘Intertidal Allotment’ (Coastal Foraging with Lucia Stuart), 2024. Photo: Serena Abbondanza

Recipes for Disaster, 2022

How might we rebuild landscapes when little of their former diversity remains?

Developed during Merritt’s residency at @delfinafdn, ‘Recipes for Disaster’ reconsidered the idea of the disaster zone through the lens of the “slow disaster”, exploring the ongoing loss of wetlands and the ecological possibilities that emerge in response.

Farmshop, 2010-2019

For ten years in a traditional Victorian shop and terrace Dalston, there were chickens on the roof and mushrooms in the basement.

Something & Son’s first project ‘Farmshop’ was an experiment in food production that sought to understand the realities of the methods used by large corporations, many of which go against natural systems.

It also explored aquaponics, aeroponics, hydroponics and soil based growing, measuring their successes and failings.

It also served as a meeting space and a restaurant serving food grown in the building. by @somethingandson

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2 months ago

A digital version of our new publication ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work In Progress’ is now available on our website.📘🔍

Part guidebook, part journal; the publication delves into the first five years of our exploratory journey towards establishing the world’s first Intertidal Allotment with artist Andrew Merritt on the Isle of Sheppey. Documenting the steps taken towards growing the seed of an idea into a functioning prototype on the Sheppey coastline, it considers how, with support, communities can respond to climate change through collective stewardship of land, sea, and food systems.

One of Andrew’s key long term goals for Intertidal Allotment is to create replicable models elsewhere in the UK and beyond. The publication aims to share our learnings so far for those who might be interested in exploring Andrew’s concept where they are. If this is you, we’d love to hear from you! 📬 Drop us a DM or email info@cementfields.org, and dive into the resource below:

→ View in full online

For anyone and everyone curious about the project and keen to learn more, head to the link in our bio to jump straight into the full PDF version.

→ Request a physical copy

We will also be distributing free limited copies of the physical publication to coastal communities nationally, so if you want to start experimenting with growing in the intertidal zone where you are please fill in the form on the same page to request a physical copy.

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‘Intertidal Allotment’ is a long term project by Andrew Merritt, commissioned by Cement Fields. The stages of the project covered in this publication have been generously supported using public funding by @aceagrams, by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund. It has been delivered in partnership with @ideas.test, @swaleboroughcouncil, @kcc_kent, @sheppey.matters, and @unikentlive’s School of Anthropology and Conservation. by @somethingandson

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2 months ago

Future Fossil is an upcoming public artwork for Oxley Park.

Designed by artists @somethingandson, the artwork explores our impact on the planet, our relationship with our homes, and the passing of time. It imagines a present-day Oxley Park house as an archaeological discovery unearthed thousands of years from now.

The sculpture is due to be installed later this year with support from @pam_publicartmatters. Stay tuned for updates!

@culturemiltonkeynes

#publicart #sculpture #oxleypark #mkart #miltonkeynesculture taken in Oxley Park by @somethingandson

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3 months ago

We’re supporting artist Andrew Merritt (@somethingandson) in his long-term initiative to nurse landscapes of slow disasters.

Working both solo and as part of the duo Something & Son, Merritt’s projects create structures for communities and ecologies to build and grow upon.

We’ll be sharing more about his ‘Slow Disasters’ project soon. In the meantime, we visited his London studio, where intriguing objects of affection, from personal keepsakes to materials and references related to his and Something & Son’s practice, offer a glimpse into his world. Swipe to make new discoveries. by @somethingandson

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3 months ago

Introducing Something & Son’s first project FARMshop, the world’s first farm in a shop. Started in 2010 it was meant to last 3 months but ended up being open for 9 years. It turned a whole terrace building into an experimental farm: chickens on the roof, mushrooms in the basement, aquaponics 🐟 in the front shop, hydroponics upstairs and greenhouse in the yard. Lots of parties that pushed the boundaries of health and safety, talks and workshops + a kitchen, cafe and co-workspace that meant this self sustaining project was free to visit. It’s one of the founding pillars of Something & Son and the way we still work today. by @somethingandson

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4 months ago

Big news! 💌 We are delighted to announce that the National Lottery Community Fund have awarded £678,500 to Cement Fields for the continued delivery of ‘Intertidal Allotment’, a long-term project by artist Andrew Merritt, creating a functional artwork and world-first shoreline community allotment on the Isle of Sheppey.

The funding, granted via the Climate Action Fund, will support ‘Intertidal Allotment’ from 2026-31, enabling the development of a series of growing plots — including shingle, salt-marsh, and estuarine — to explore the abundant growing and harvesting potential of intertidal and supratidal zones.

The project aims to build climate resilience, support local food production, revive and cultivate new eating habits, restore coastal biodiversity and develop new forms of land stewardship.

By 2031, the Allotment will be a community-owned, co-managed series of plots with skilled local caretakers and an established local food supply, and provide the blueprint for a new modular and sustainable system that can be replicated in other coastal locations. 🤝🪏🌊

🗓️ Talking Intertidal: Conversation and Book Launch

Join us this Saturday in Whitstable for a conversation between Andrew Merritt and architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatpongc) of @chatarchitects, as they discuss their reciprocal residencies in the UK and Thailand as part of ’Intertidal Exchange’. This shared research has explored how they are using informal architecture, sustainable building practices, and community action to respond to climate change in each unique coastal setting.

We will also be celebrating the launch of ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress’, a new publication examining the key steps taken over the last five years developing the project from the seed of an idea to a functioning prototype on the Sheppey coastline. Free copies will be available.📗

→ Saturday 20 June, 2-4pm
→ @thehorsebridge, Whitstable
→ Free to attend, booking required via our bio

Lots more news to come. Stay tuned! by @somethingandson

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4 months ago

Announcing: ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work In Progress’ 📘

What would it be like to cultivate plant life and food growing in the intertidal zone? ‘Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress’ delves into the first five years of artist Andrew Merritt’s attempt to answer this question on the Isle of Sheppey.

Beautifully designed by @polytechnic___, this publication — part guidebook, part journal — records the first steps in the exploratory journey towards establishing the world’s first ‘Intertidal Allotment’. Documenting the steps taken towards growing the seed of an idea into a functioning prototype on the Sheppey coastline, it considers how, with support, communities can respond to climate change through collective stewardship of land, sea, and food systems.

Join us next Saturday to celebrate the launch of the publication with an in-conversation between Andrew and Thai architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects) as part of ‘Intertidal Exchange’.

Free copies of the publication will be available.

→ Talking Intertidal: Conversation and Book Launch
→ Saturday 20 June, 2-4pm
→ @thehorsebridge, Whitstable
→ Free to attend, booking required via our bio

With thanks to the publication contributors:
Andrew Merritt @somethingandson
Emma Leach
Amelia Sharp @milz_____
Samuel Taylor @s__t____r
Matt Ponsford
Ian Tittley
James Buttenshaw @jamesbuttenshaw_photography
Lucia Stuart @luciathewildkitchen
Cherry Truluck @cherrytruluck
Nicol Vizioli @nicolvizioli
Sam Wainwright @wainwrightsam
Serena Abbondanza @serebondanza

Raise a toast with us next Saturday! 🥂

More images of the printed publication follow...

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‘Intertidal Allotment’ is a long term project by Andrew Merritt, commissioned by North Kent visual arts organisation Cement Fields. This stage of the project has been generously supported using public funding by @aceagrams, by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund. It has been delivered in partnership with @ideas.test, @swaleboroughcouncil, @kcc_kent, @sheppey.matters, and @unikentlive’s School of Anthropology and Conservation. by @somethingandson

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4 months ago

Back in March, artist Andrew Merritt (@somethingandson) and architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects) met in Bangkok for the first part of their 'Intertidal Exchange'. ⁠
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From the Mae Klong River to the mangroves around Samut Songkhram, Chat introduced Andy to Thailand's unique coastal landscapes and shared how his work responds to these contexts, drawing new connections between their two practices. 🌱⁠
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If you'd like to hear more about their exchange, join us in Whitstable on Saturday 20 June for a conversation between Andrew and Chatpong.

Coming at the end of Chatpong's visit to the UK, they will expand upon their collaboration and what they have learnt through their time together. ⁠
⁠
We'll also be celebrating the launch of 'Intertidal Allotment: A Work in Progress' — a new publication exploring the first phase of our long-term project with Andrew on the Isle of Sheppey.⁠
⁠
Book a free ticket now via the link in our bio.⁠

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‘Intertidal Exchange’ is supported by the @britishcouncil through their Connections Through Culture grants programme.

Video courtesy of Matt Kebbell (@mattkebbell). by @somethingandson

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4 months ago

Slow Disasters: the erosion of everyday landscapes

Naming disasters changes the way we inhabit them. Not all disasters arrive as emergencies or visible collapse. Some unfold slowly and silently: in soils that lose fertility, in waters that alter their cycles, in the disappearance of native seeds, in the displacement of ingredients, and in the loss of the desire to care for the land.

This is what we call Slow Disasters: a framework for remembering that food systems are living landscapes: territories where life is defended, imagined and renewed.

To name them is to recognise that what sustains us is also what must be cared for.

#SlowDisasters #LivingSoil #FoodLandscapes #LivingTerritories #RegenerativeFutures SoilMemory by @somethingandson

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5 months ago

Desastres Lentos: la erosión de los paisajes cotidianos

Nombrar los desastres cambia la forma en que los habitamos. No todos los desastres llegan como emergencias o colapsos visibles. Algunos se despliegan lenta y silenciosamente: en suelos que pierden fertilidad, en aguas que alteran sus ciclos, en la desaparición de semillas nativas, en el desplazamiento de ingredientes y en la pérdida del deseo de cuidar la tierra.

A esto lo llamamos Desastres Lentos: un marco para recordar que los sistemas alimentarios son paisajes vivos, territorios donde la vida se defiende, se imagina y se renueva.

Nombrarlos es reconocer que aquello que nos sostiene es también aquello que debe ser cuidado.
Este proyecto es producido por Looking Forward y Cocina Colaboratorio, con el apoyo de Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur y la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

#DesastresLentos #LivingSoil #FoodLandscapes #TerritoriosVivos #RegenerativeFutures MemoriaDelSuelo SlowDisasters by @somethingandson

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5 months ago

📢 Announcing: ‘Intertidal Exchange’ — an international exchange programme that brings together UK artist Andrew Merritt (of @somethingandson) and Thai architect Chatpong Chuenrudeemol (@chatarchitects) to share their ongoing research into how informal architecture, sustainable building practices, and community action can respond to climate change.

Andrew’s current project with Cement Fields, ‘Intertidal Allotment’, is creating a functional artwork and world-first shoreline community allotment on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Taking inspiration from the traditional allotment form, the project expands it into the intertidal zone, where tidal movements create a unique belt of biodiversity. Both a functional artwork and a co-created community asset, ‘Intertidal Allotment’ aims to create a sustainable modular system that responds to the needs of local people, supports Sheppey’s coastal ecology and is replicable in other locations.

Chatpong has developed the concept of ‘bastard architecture’ — a form of vernacular architecture born of necessity, exemplified in his project ‘Angsila Oyster Scaffolding Pavilion’ in Chonburi province, Thailand, which literally builds upon the traditional bamboo scaffolding used for oyster cultivation to create a new community-owned space in the intertidal zone. Meanwhile, Chatpong’s ongoing project ‘Growing a New Rurbanism’, supported by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, is exploring new ways of developing Thailand’s rural and coastal areas through new economies linked to local ecology, industry, and craft.

Through reciprocal residencies in the UK and Thailand, Andrew and Chatpong will come together to share their work, discussing their process, learnings and outcomes. Exploring the parallels between their projects, they will share approaches to embracing vernacular styles, using locally available materials, and nurturing social enterprise.

Stay tuned to see more from the exchange. 🤝

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‘Intertidal Exchange’ is supported by the @britishcouncil through their Connections Through Culture grants programme. by @somethingandson

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6 months ago

Completing the trio of case studies for our From The Edge Symposium is Andrew Merritt’s long term project and functional artwork ‘Intertidal Allotment’.

Throughout the day, we’ll explore community climate action and regenerative artistic practices through three live projects from across the UK. Round table conversations and panel discussions will bring together artists, curators, and communities at the forefront of reimagining the care of our environment in contested, liminal, and peripheral sites. 🌱

Andrew Merritt & Cement Fields | Intertidal Allotment

One half of @somethingandson, Andrew’s work explores social and environmental issues via everyday scenarios, criss-crossing the boundaries between visual arts, architecture and activism.

‘Intertidal Allotment’ takes inspiration from the traditional allotment form and expands it into the intertidal zone — the area of the seashore covered at high tide and uncovered at low tide — to propose a world first coastal community allotment on the north shores of the Isle of Sheppey.

Swipe to read more. 👉

The From The Edge symposium is fully booked but you can join the waitlist via our bio to be the first to hear if spaces become available. We can’t wait to welcome you to Sheppey on Thursday and dive into all three case studies with @granduniongallery and @threeriversbexley!

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From the Edge is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund as part of ‘Intertidal Allotment’. ‘Intertidal Allotment’ is commissioned by Cement Fields and supported by Arts Council England and The National Lottery Community Fund through their Climate Action Fund. Delivered in partnership with Ideas Test, Swale Borough Council, Kent County Council, Sheppey Matters and University of Kent’s School of Anthropology and Conservation. by @somethingandson

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a year ago