Melanie Jackson

'Milk' at the Wellcome Collection, which includes a new iteration of Mel Jackson and Esther Leslie's project ‘Deeper in the Pyramid: Share of Throat’, is included in The Guardian's Best Free Spring Culture List.

The show is open through until 10 September 2023.

‘Milk’ explores our relationship with milk and its place in global politics, society and culture. Featuring over 100 items, including historical objects, artworks and new commissions, it will survey the complexity of this seemingly everyday substance and how it has come to be seen as so central to our perceptions of nutrition and ‘good health.’ It will also consider the consequences of scientific reforms in farming and motherhood, and will ask what the future of milk might look like.

'Deeper in the Pyramid' explores milk’s seepage into every aspect of our daily lives; it engages with the bio-economy and its representations through the webs of care, exploitation and collective fantasy that interconnect life forms at every scale. The work comprises animation, sculpture, and a new version of the publication with writing by Melanie Jackson and Esther Leslie, taking us on a journey of lactic abstractions through the webs of bio-invasion and collective fantasy that interconnect various life forms through milk, its technologies and representations. A scent for the installation has been created by Ezra-Lloyd Jackson.

The original project was commissioned by Grand Union, Primary and Banner Repeater, London in 2018 and funded by ACE. The original publication is available from our online shop and the new edit will be available at the Wellcome and by request.