wildcornerz

Started January 2010 by Jack Thurgar

This is a scrapbook dedicated to the study of London's weeds and the wild places where they grow. Wildcornerz also looks at the languages, cultures and mythologies that develop in these cracks.

What is a Wildcorner?

A Wildcorner is a term referring to a gap that has been left to grow wild in the city. The term encompasses every wild piece of land no matter the size, from large disused sports grounds to small patches of commercial wasteland, to a crack in the pavement. As long as this gap in the man made landscape harbours some kind of weed, then it is considered a Wildcorner.

Wildcorners and Wildcorridors* are dotted all over the capital and vary in content, depending on their location and history. One thing most have in common, is that they are normally restricted in someway from public access or boarded off and hidden from public view altogether. In this blog we focus particularly on the Wildcorners of south east London.

* Wildcorridor; a word used to describe a channel or pathway that runs through an urban landscape, which facilities the propagation and growth of weeds. This includes railway sidings, rivers and canals.

Urban and Suburban Weeds

By the term 'weeds' we are of course referring to the cities wild plants and flowers. But their are also two other weeds that grow in the city.

'Graf' like its botanical relation, has many families and strains. Both of these weeds can often be found together, sharing many qualities including their adaptive nature and unregulated status. Both in many cases, originally entered and populated the city using the railway network.

London's third 'weed' is invisible and uses the tops of tower blocks to propagate. Pirate radio like its weed relatives, grows away from the public eye and is constantly adapting to exploit these same gaps across the cities FM radio spectrum, fighting and flourishing in-between the commercial stations.

Monday, 13 March 2023

Governors, Duo's, Lone-wolfs - Graf Storytellers of old London Town

Here are some of my picks from the Killa Kela podcast.

This is a selection of my favourite characters behind some of the biggest tags, from the 80s and 90s London scenes. The Char and Steam interviews are particular jewels.

They tell childhood stories, growing up in a different era of London, as well as tales of missions and danger, memories of names and locations that interweave to form part of the rich tapestry that is London graffiti folklore.

Wednesday, 1 March 2023

Uncle Yammy; The great storyteller of life behind the door

Thought this was definitly one for the wildcorner corner. Check out Yammy B's youtube channel for his regular stories from over 40 years in the uk prison system.

Yammy came from an extremely traumatic childhood and was put into care at the age of 9 and then on to borstal and then prison. He spent years in the 'Cat A's' where he got hooked on class a drugs and became a notorious hitman for various inmates.

He is now many years clean and a reformed character. He is an amazing story teller, with bags of charisma, natural intellect and humble wisdom .. and so dam likeable too! His stories come effortlessly from his memory and couldn't be told better if they had been written and rehearsed a hundred times.

Here also is his excellent James English interview which goes back to his childhood and where he is at today.

Thursday, 10 November 2022

The Swamp [Vol 1] Extended Trailer - NEWNESS!

This is a trailer for my first video in a new series.

The videos explore the infamous Swamp; a secluded piece of wild land in Lewisham and are made from footage I filmed there over the last 20 years.

In this first chapter I look at the mysterious pond and the unnamed stream.

Run time of full film: 24 mins

Tuesday, 11 October 2022

Wild Cornerz Show this week in Peckham

Im showing my new video 'The Swamp' this week as part of a group show named after this very blog. The video is the first of a new series made of footage filmed at the infamous swamp over the last 20 years. Accompanying the video I am showing my shrine to the Swamp [pictured below].

Im exhibiting alongside three other local artists; Andrew Finch, Tobias and Ed Carter who's work also explores wildness in someway.

Heres a small feature about the show on Radical Art Review: https://www.radicalartreview.org/post/floods-riots-and-pirate-radio-exploring-lewisham-s-forgotten-corners

A Shrine to the Swamp

Still from 'The Swamp' by Jack Thurgar

Wild Cornerz is showing at Satterlite Store, Holdrons Arcade, Peckham [Thurs 13th - Saturday 15th Oct].

Andrew is screening his film 'The Love Below' Featuring myself and Ed Carter in the river Quaggy, on the closing night at 6pm.

Tuesday, 27 September 2022

Back from the future!

It's been a minute on here. I started posting on my insta account: @jackthurgar more these days. Maybe I should bring back the ol blogspot.. or just leave it be... hmm... I like that its still here as a little archive of work and research anyway.

In the mean time, heres a new tee I've made 'Unknown Dangers' and am selling though my online shop: Cornerz Clothing

Monday, 17 February 2020

Welcome to the family kid!

My Corner Weedz print is available to buy [along with the tee version].

Each Corner Weed member, represents four different species of 'weeds' that grow in the wild places of South London.

Meet, Poppy Head, Levi the dandy Lion, Ragz [Ragwort] and 'Mad' Bud [Buddleia.]

....

More Road than the green cross code!

Lewisham Natureman article [Archive]

Newshopper Article from 2014 about some of the stag sightings in the borough.

Interesting the article suggests they have been made using stencils. The few that I have seen close up, look like they were painted with a brush.