Marking her new exhibition ‘Farm / Mill / Bake’, Ryedale Folk Museum speak to documentary photographer Tessa Bunney about capturing organic bread production from field to table.
Organic wheat, Denby Hall Barn, Denby Dale
Ryedale Folk Museum: We’re so excited to be working with you on Farm / Mill / Bake, Tessa. But can you tell us about what drew you to the project?
Tessa: This has really been a dream commission for me, where I get to take beautiful photographs whilst bringing light to something that feels important. My work has often centred on how we use the landscape and the relationship between the land and the people – the stories behind the work they do.
In this project, I’ve been focused on unearthing the lives of some amazing people and their individual parts in a larger national story. It’s been very rewarding.
Alex Fraser, Denby Hall Barn, Denby Dale. Populations wheat grain.
Ryedale Folk Museum: It sounds like you’ve found out a lot about the process of organic bread production. Has anything surprised you?
Tessa: I really didn’t know much about the different methods of growing and harvesting at all before I started. It varies so much depending on whether it’s organic or non-organic. Throughout the project, so many people took the time to explain the details to me – from the best time to harvest based on the exact moisture content of the grain to the complexities of the baking process. I now appreciate so much more of what actually goes into it, and I hope that comes across in my work.
Carr House Farm, Foston on the Wolds, East Yorkshire – Hester Webb with Crusoe Winter Wheat
Ryedale Folk Museum: You photographed a lot of different people for Farm / Mill / Bake. Did that pose challenges?
Tessa: I could have photographed more to be honest. We had to choose a point to stop, but there are so many committed individuals I could have visited. Wherever I went, I was really struck by the generosity of the people I met – the farmers, millers, and bakers.
They shared so much knowledge and really opened their lives to me! All of them have been innovating in their own ways, making small adjustments along the way. There are some exceptionally skilled people out there, and I don’t think we appreciate them enough. The understanding that goes into their work, from knowing the exact timing for combining based on the weather to getting their head around the implications when making the conscious choice to switch to organic production. It’s incredible.
Yorkshire Organic Millers, Hill Top Farm, Spaunton Bank, Appleton-le-Moors
Haxby Bakehouse, York
Ryedale Folk Museum: How are you feeling now that you’ve reached the end of the project?
Tessa: Bread production is such a complex process, and as the project developed and I learnt more, I really wanted to do justice to the work that is done.
Many of the people I worked with haven’t always been involved in organic bread production – it’s been a conscious choice to change, often for reasons such as environmental impact, health, or education.
It’s been a very inspiring thing to work on. I love projects where I don’t know much at the start – I really enjoy the detective work. This experience has reinforced for me just how much skill, care, and passion goes into something as seemingly simple as a loaf of bread.
Dan Barrow, Stark Farm Bakery, Tollerton nr York
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Nestled within the North York Moors National Park, Ryedale Folk Museum is an open-air museum which houses 40,000 objects within more than twenty heritage buildings (open Saturday-Thursday). You can visit ‘Farm / Mill / Bake’ for free until 5th May. More information here.