Featuring: Jai Toor

Article
By Ollie Nicholas
25/09/19

Subtitle

The Future of Farming: An investigation into how technology can change food production.

Contents

1. Jai Toor

2. The Future of Farming

3. Ambition & Inspiration

New Minds 2019 Winner: Jai Toor

Jai Toor is a multi-faceted photographer and graphic designer that has recently graduated from Winchester School of Art. Jai’s project; “The Future of Farming” investigates how technology can change the manner in which we grow and produce food, in light of growing environmental pressures. Alongside other projects, Jai hopes to continue exploring the futures of farming as he embarks on his travels in the next year.

Subtitle

The Future of Farming: An investigation into how technology can change food production.

Contents

1. Jai Toor

2. The Future of Farming

3. Ambition & Inspiration

Jai Toor is a multi-faceted photographer and graphic designer that has recently graduated from Winchester School of Art. Jai’s project; “The Future of Farming” investigates how technology can change the manner in which we grow and produce food, in light of growing environmental pressures. Alongside other projects, Jai hopes to continue exploring the futures of farming as he embarks on his travels in the next year.
1. Jai Toor

My name is Jai Toor and I am a multi-faceted photographer and graphic designer from London, and a recent graduate from Winchester School of Art. During my early years I grew up in Slough, London and then at the age of five I moved to India with my mother. Moving to a city like Mumbai had a big impact on me because it was culturally and scenically very different to where I grew up and the language was very different.

What I love about the city was how fast paced it is. For example, an average day would consist of waking up to the sound of the mosque beginning their prayers, smelling the fish market outside our house and then getting into a taxi with around 10 other kids and going to school. Processing this now is astonishing and it definitely established my interest on how people around the world form relationships with their surroundings. While living in India, we took holidays to other cities around the country and it was essentially my first real taste of travelling.

For the first time in my life, I was exposed to wildlife, rural towns and religion, however alongside this I was also exposed to undeveloped areas, poverty and pollution. This environment was eye-opening but at the time I didn’t really grasp the fact that it would play a significant part in my life. At such a young age I was not in the position to make a change, this being said it did make me aware and conscious of issues that surround newly industrialised countries like India. This part of my life was very important to me as now I’m able to accept my upbringing and heritage as an influence to my creativity and practise.

Henri Cartier-Bresson - Brussels, Belgium, 1932

It wasn’t until I moved back to the UK that my interest in photography began to develop. One day I came across my dads old negatives from his travels and an old Nikon FE2 35mm camera and I was instantly intrigued with these items. In India I had been using small digital cameras or phones, but I had no knowledge on how people took photos before the rise of technology. By looking at contact sheets of my fathers work and the work he was influenced by sparked my own interest in photography. Some of the photographers I was exposed to were Henri-Cartier Bresson, Robert Capa, Raghu Rai and Steve McCurry who are some of the all time greats. It’s weird, when my father was in his 20's he was practising to become a professional photographer, and he had a large archive of work and a job in a studio. My grandfather at the time didn’t think photography was a way to make a suitable income and made him get a full time job. This put a halt to my dads passion and he never looked at it in the same way again. I guess in some way this had an effect on me when I was younger and sort of pushed me to become interested in the medium in an unconventional manner, leaving me to finish off what he started.

My practise is varied because I have a wide variety of interests, although I see myself as a documentary photographer. I like stepping into other fields as it makes what I’m working on new and different to other projects. The majority of my work is research led and I’m drawn to topics and subjects that highlight factors of globalisation, current affairs and upcoming technologies that have the opportunity to better the world. Alongside this work, I also document the everyday, my travels, people who seem to have an impact on specific situations, and moments that happen by chance. I’m drawn to unusual spaces that could provide the viewer with a completely different view or thought of the area, almost making the space abstract. As-well as photography, my practise also involves elements of graphic design. I think that creating publications and photo-book’s for projects can help bring together a visual narrative to a project but also provide insight into the topic that’s being addressed.

Steve McCurry - Afghan Girl, Pakistan, 1984

2. The Future of Farming

My project ‘The Future of Farming’ is an investigation into how technology can change the manner in which we grow and produce food. The project allowed me to take on the role of a journalist, I was able to record, learn and ask questions around a new technology called vertical farming. The project came about when my dad sent me an article from the Financial Times that gave an insight into a company called; Jones Food Company (JFC) who have a new facility which they quote as the largest vertical farm in Europe, being over 17 storeys high. The photography in the article looked somewhat dystopian and different from anything I had seen before and reinforced my interest in globalisation and technology.

Vertical Farms - The Future of Farming by Jai Toor

What made you interested in exploring future farming methods?

Today we are seeing major problems with the increase of population, urbanisation, water use and climate change, and this essentially encourages innovators and companies to think of new methods to grow food. As land resources for agriculture decrease in big cities, policy makers are faced with challenges of sustainability and feeding the growing world population that is projected to hit 10 billion by 2050. What interested me is how through this technology you can essentially reduce environmental footprint and increase food production. We know that fossil fuels are a major part of the agricultural business, and with better technology, countries won’t have to import produce from other countries.

Working on the future of farming - The Future of Farming by Jai Toor

Produce from vertical farms - The Future of Farming by Jai Toor

Describe your experience visiting the farms first hand.

Vertical farming has plenty of benefits and being big on food, I was intrigued to see why the technology is so innovative. Initially it was hard gaining access to certain farms especially JFC who said their farm was restricted due to high care conditions at all times. Unfortunately this put a temporary halt to the project, but I did eventually receive more promising responses from companies such as Stockbridge Technology Centre and Growing Underground who were intrigued that a photographer was doing a project on their technology. When visiting Growing Underground, I was astonished by the growing conditions and scale of the project. The location had once been used for paper storage, but now it is eerie and cold, with LED lights that are used to grow food. This really stuck out to me because the lights lit the room with a pink hue.

Seeing the hydroponic technology that is used in these unexpected locations was thought provoking, and I was surprised that more people haven't used abandoned buildings to push the technology even further. The taste of the food is what really had me turning too. Grown without any soil, minimal water and LED lights, the leafy greens tasted better than any other produce I’ve had previously. This is because you can fine tune the amount of water each seed gets and how much light they receive for photosynthesis, essentially changing the taste of the food. The produce is not sprayed with pesticides and is shipped very frequently to shops, therefore it doesn't loose its nutritional value and is much healthier to eat. Many people might look at my photos and think that the produce is being genetically modified, but this is not the case and I hope that through my photography I am able to change opinion.

Vertical Farms at Stockbridge Technology Centre - The Future of Farming by Jai Toor

How do you hope that documenting the Farms through photography will help?

The end result for the project was a newspaper publication which included information and photography. My reason for creating a newspaper publication was to educate the wider public on the possibilities of the technology, and how we could embed it into British food production.

Documentation of farms through photography will help as it can help educate and provide the general public with information that not everyone can access. Documenting the growth of something that could essentially be revolutionary for the human race is something everyone should know about, and I hope more people become aware of our current situation. Photographers have gone on to do projects on mass produced meat farms, but I think that documenting produce that is integral to the sustainability of our planet is something that people should also be aware of.

The Future of Farming Newspaper by Jai Toor

The Future of Farming Newspaper by Jai Toor

Are there any resources you would point readers towards who would like to find out more about this topic?

If you want to find out more on the subject, I would say look into Dickson Despommier and his book called “The Vertical Farm: Feeding the world in the 21st century”. He is the pioneer of vertical farming and the methodology behind the technology. I would also look into the agricultural revolution that’s taking place in Netherlands and Singapore where food is mass produced through vertical farming.

Are there any of your other projects that you would like to share with our readers? If so please expand.

Currently I’m working on an archive based project which uses old photographs to address my grandfathers diaspora. As a migrant he compassed many different cultures and religions, essentially having more than one identity. In 2012 he passed away and I was never able to fully understand his story and through this I hope to connect with him on a personal level, but to also understand what his reasons were for migration were and how it influenced him. Another theme I’m exploring through the project is one of friendship, I think our generation has lost it’s ability to have fun with the people that you’re around without the need to upload something to the internet. By no means am I saying it’s a bad thing, however in essence it makes moments less precious. The imagery will be shown through a linear narrative and trace his steps from India to Kenya and then to England.

‘Untitled’ - Kenya, 1959

‘Untitled’ - Kenya, 1959

3. Ambition & Inspiration

Currently, there are a couple of photographers and individuals that have caught my eye, one being Sebastiao Salgado, who is a photographer that has played an active part in changing society and perception through photography and conservation. Salgado began his career as an economist but transitioned into a photojournalist as he visited some of the most devastating and unconventional places on planet earth. His book; ‘Migrations and Workers’ has some of the most thought provoking images that will live on forever. It documents humanity, and issues that surpass boundaries nationally, culturally and politically. Another artist / photographer that has created work that is positive and thought provoking is Nick Sethi, who is a contemporary artist who has one a project called ‘Khichdi’ (Kitchari) which was shot over a 10 year period, exploring India's rapidly changing identity; focusing on gender, technology, and the balance of traditional Indian culture alongside western culture. I think through this exploration, he has shown the world a side of India that only Indians may be aware of.

Greater Burhan Oil Field, Kuwait, Chemical spray protects firefighter by Sebastião Salgado, 1991

Both of these artists have different styles and methods, however they portray similar themes in their work and that’s what excites me. As an artist I think it’s important to grasp different practitioners work as it can help inform the manner in which I shoot and approach subjects.

As I have just graduated university, I plan on taking my camera abroad and documenting my travels over the next year. I’m planning to start my journey in Goa, India then hopefully carry on through South East Asia and Australia. By travelling I hope to gain inspiration, learn more around current issues and further my practise. I also plan on visiting vertical farms and research facilities in the countries that I visit. This will help me develop a deeper understanding of vertical farming, and how the technology could reduce major issues in different regions around the world. A topic that I also want to approach for my next project is something to do with sports. I think sports provide people with a voice, a sense of belonging and unity, and also creates success stories that can change a persons life.

From Khichdi (Kitchari) by Nick Sethi, 2018

In your opinion, how can creativity change the World?

I think that creativity has the opportunity to change the world because not only can you voice your opinion through creativity, but you can also come up with new ideas that could potentially end up changing just 1 or potentially even 1000 people lives. In essence, if you do something creative, it will have a lasting impact on someone and can help start a conversation, and that conversation could snowball, and something important could end up coming out of it. Creativity can come in a variety of forms whether it be cooking, cleaning or by starting a new project, and in my opinion it is essential to be creative everyday and to surround yourself with a wide variety of people and places to enhance your knowledge. To further innovate the vertical farming idea; designers, architects and scientists will need to work together creatively to push the technology to its full capability. Currently there is only a limited amount of produce being grown in this way, however this could change in the near future.

  • Featuring: Jai Toor

Bibliography

Jai Toor (www.jaitoor.com)

Social

Jai Toor (@steelangles_)

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