FAMINE FOOD, since 2011
mixed media, installation, variable dimensions
Courtesy of the Artists and Kisterem Gallery
How can we survive an economic, ecological or social crisis? What should we eat during a war or a famine? Which plants should we collect and how should we prepare them?
We may find answers to such questions as we enter the installation of the ex-artists’ collective: a herb dryer, a granary and a collecting pavilion all in one. It is also not far from being suitable for storing, drying and processing plants collected in forests, fields and gardens – even when set up in an exhibition space. (The sunny rooftop is perfect for drying fruits, while the more shaded areas are rather suitable for herbs.)
Still, this simple wooden structure goes far beyond the visual representation of the theoretical and practical knowledge gained about natural resources and their diversity, the basics of self-sufficiency and self-preservation, cheap basic commodities easily accessible to all, and various techniques and forgotten folk traditions. The visionary graphics, posters, photographs and texts placed both inside and outside the installation, together with the seeds, mushrooms and curiously-shaped sticks collected by the artists, seem to give us a glimpse into the hiding place of a nomadic community – perhaps in the not too distant future, among the imaginary settings of a pandemic or a war.
