Residency at Barbecho, Nov-Dec 2017
barbecho.eu
Exploring the flavours, textures, colours, histories and stories behind three ingredients: all grown in Spain and forming a strong cultural base for Spanish cooking. Through experimental food making, performance and installation, I explored food as a platform for new discussions, change and togetherness, while asking herself:
Where do I draw the line between chef and artist?
Can I be both?
Can the gallery be the kitchen and the kitchen be the gallery?
If the food is the artwork, what is left after we eat it?
This investigation took shape across 6 dinners (2 for each of the 3 main ingredients), a workshop and various collaborations with local artists, supported by a close relationship with the architect behind Barbecho, Pia Mendaro.
During the residency, and through various collaborations, I produced the MESA kit - a collection of 3 objects, in a series of 12 sets, taking my food project Mesa as a starting point. The kit is what remains as a physical object, after the experience of each dinner has passed. It's a condensation of each event I held at Barbecho and, therefore, tells the collective story of Tomate, Membrillo y Limón.
The kit is composed by objects designed and produced by various artists in collaboration with me, while in residence at Barbecho. Each object was utilised as the vessel for a specific dish in each of the six dinners. These objects work as carriers of memory of each event, and so are the perfect vehicle for re-enacting them in new formats and contexts.
TOMATE
MEMBRILLO
LIMÓN
KIT
Clockwise from bottom:
Mother, look what I brought for you
Hand-engraved petri dish, 10cm.
Inês Neto dos Santos, 2017
For TOMATE
Descent of man, by woman
Steel structure 10x10, soldered ø2 cable, white.
With Pía Mendaro, 2017
For MEMBRILLO
Despacito, empezamos
Hand-thrown ceramic pot and lid, glaze.
With: Laura Gutiérrez de Carlos y Alicia García Ruiz, 2017
For LIMÓN