Soil, Toil & Table

5 December 2024 to 25 January 2025 Lethaby Gallery

Left to right: Ralph Ball, ’Foundation & Elevation, 2024;  Rachel Ruiyi Yang, ’The Restaurant’, 2024
Left to right: Ralph Ball, ’Foundation & Elevation, 2024; Rachel Ruiyi Yang, ’The Restaurant’, 2024

A new exhibition exploring food, culture and sustainability.

This December, Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins presents Soil, Toil & Table, a pioneering exhibition exploring our complex relationship with land, food production, culture, consumption and waste.  

Running from 5 December 2024 – 25 January 2025, the exhibition is uniquely driven by the creative body at Central Saint Martins, entirely curated by current students and recent graduates. Featuring over 70 thought-provoking works created by students, alumni and staff, each artwork offers an innovative approach to some of today’s most urgent global issues.  

Spanning disciplines including fashion, installations, bio-inspired sculptures and ecological design, the works explore how we engage with our food systems, shedding light on critical issues such as environmental degradation, cultural disconnects and unsustainable practices. The exhibition showcases creative interpretations that not only highlight these challenges but also present pathways for sustainable solutions, emphasising our collective role in reducing waste, fostering food literacy and supporting regenerative practices. 

From innovative uses of discarded materials to community focused storytelling, the exhibition invites visitors to engage with radical perspectives on how we grow, consume, and waste food. Visitors can feel, smell and even taste elements of the natural world, experiencing the exhibition as a holistic journey that brings them closer to the origin and impact of their food choices. 

One exhibit repurposes used coffee grounds to create sustainable dining ware, showcasing how waste can be transformed into everyday objects that serve and remind us of the circular nature of our resources. Another piece documents London’s reawakened interest in allotments and urban gardening spaces, providing insight into how city dwellers are reclaiming their right to grow food and fostering local, accessible food sources in the process. Other installations dive into the landscapes that support our agriculture, including audio-guided walks through UK farmland that allow visitors to immerse themselves in the sounds and narratives of rural spaces, offering a meditative experience on the textures and sounds of food production landscapes. 

Listings

Soil, Toil & Table  5 December 2024 – 25 January 2025 

Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA 

Tues – Fri, 11am - 6pm  

Sat – Sun, 12pm - 5pm 

Admission: FREE

Further Information:  Soil, Toil & Table | Central Saint Martins