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 piece of land that has been left to grow wild in a man made landscape. To be a true Wildcorner, the land has to be restricted from public access. Many are hidden from public view altogether. A common type of wildcorner is referred to by govements and local authorities as a 'brownfield site'.

Wildcorners and corridors* are dotted all over the capital and vary in content, depending on their location and history. In this blog we focus particularly on the Wildcorners of south east London.

* Wildcorridors are networks of pathways that run through the city and facilitate the propagation and growth of weeds. Many are restricted from public access such as railway embankments and urban rivers. In the suburbs, footpaths such as the Green Chain connect public green areas by a network of alleyways and passages that skirt between houses and private land. It could be argued that these are also wild corridors.



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.

Another 'weed' that historically flourishes in London 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.

© Copyright of Wildcornerz. All rights reserved. For enquiries please contact: wildcornerz1@yahoo.co.uk
Showing posts with label Cornerz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cornerz. Show all posts

Monday, 29 September 2025

Wild corners connected

                        
This guy sets himself the challenge to cross Greater London without using any roads. Some of these Youtuber geo adventures can seem a little gimmicky at times but what is created here is fascinating. 
He maps a route using larger green spaces and in between these he navigates, trespasses an internal network of edges, alleys and water ways through the city and suburbs. 
See him passing through Lewisham in a section of the Ravensbourne. 

   
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Sunday, 15 October 2023

Bunking - a Mini Workshop

This is a mini workshop I ran as part of a two day online event for Chisenhale art studios, the Alt-MFA and Into the Wild alternative art programs:

Local hiding places. 
If you were a kid, where would you bunk school? 

 Workshop by Jack Thurgar [WILDCORNERZ]

A workshop focussing on hiding places, spaces away from authority and the public eye.

This is a quick exercise in imaginative thinking.

The workshop aims to create a small five minute window out of our studio practice

to focus-in and meditate on a specific place. 


Participants are encouraged to think like a child, reinterpreting the local area to find their own hiding place. Think about how it stimulates all senses. Describe its location and geography. Why did you choose this place for bunking?

As a group we will spend 5 minutes drawing a quick sketch and/or write a few sentences about the place from memory/imagination.

Participants then spend the last few minutes sharing back to the group. 

Sketch by Michael Davies [workshop participant]




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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






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Wednesday, 29 November 2017

New Tee from Wildcornerz out now!

I  have a fresh new t-shirt out over on my merch label 'Cornerz'
available now.
We proudly present 'The Corner Weedz'.  
The style of the design is inspired by uk comic books from the 1980's and 90's such as Acne, Braindead and Viz. 

Each Corner Weed member is from a different species of 'weed' that grows in the wild places of London.
Meet Poppy 'Head', Levi the dandy Lion, Ragz [Ragwort] and Bud [Buddleia.]
More Road than the green cross code!

 Cornerz

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