Ensō House was delighted to have worked with Billy Barraclough on his debut solo show ‘Fodder’ which opened on Wednesday 30 October 2024.
16 prints from the ‘Fodder’ series were on show at Ensō House throughout November, alongside a haystack installation by Cynthia Fan, the curator of the exhibition. ‘Fodder’ is a body of work made over Summer 2024 which documents the practice of hay making in rural Romania. The project explores how farming and nature can coexist, and centres around the century’s old tradition of sculpting huge haystacks to protect the hay from the harsher winter months.
The grass is cut, dried, turned and stacked. Fodder for overwinter.
Through the ‘Fodder’ series, Billy takes us on his journey through remote Romania. We learn the routine of how whole families head out into the waist-high fields to begin the harvest as the morning dew burns off. We hear the grasshoppers, butterflies and spiders make way as human sounds replace the hum of insects. The grass is cut and then left to dry over a long lunch held under the shade of a tree. After the midday heat has subsided, the family members take on their separate roles of collecting, piling and forking the grass. Slowly, the haystacks that have characterised the Romanian countryside for thousands of years are formed and the fodder that supports the family’s livestock is protected from the harsher months to come.
Romania’s wildflower meadows and farmland are among the most biodiverse ecosystems in Europe. The grasslands are full of the sounds and movement of insects, as well as the colour and depth of flora. This life and all its variety has been lost among the rest of Europe. Large-scale farming, machinery, chemicals and intensification has prioritised human consumption and replaced the natural soundscape and landscape. Romania is one of the few remaining European countries in which farmland provides for the whole spectrum of both wildlife and human life. The practice of haymaking in Romania has changed little in millennia. Much of the process is still done by hand and involves sculpting huge bell-shaped haystacks which protect the fodder from rain, wind and snow. The relationship with the land, the use of hand tools, and the lack of chemicals has ensured that the farming has had little impact on the Romanian ecosystem. Billy’s ‘Fodder’ series is the perfect record of this unique environment.
‘Fodder’ explores the practice of haymaking in rural Romania: a landscape where nature thrives alongside traditional farming techniques.
The ‘Fodder’ project was supported by Ensō House, OXSREV and FRMD. Thank you to Zsolt Bodor for his invaluable help during Billy’s time in Romania, as well as all the farmers who let Billy into their lives and fields.
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