What is it about food? Basic human needs? Or sensory pleasure and enjoyment?
In this exhibition*, I would like to point at various aspects of food, including the importance of community and working with our hands. The aim of my project is to explore how important food can be for our well-being and to re-establish a relationship with the origin of food.
In 2013, at an artist residency in Central Vietnam, I started working on images of small-scale food producers. The project later continued in three different continents.
The first series, 'Made in Vietnam' is honouring micro food production households and features people who are physically involved in growing or producing food from their homes and gardens. I deeply acknowledge how labour intensive it is to produce what we eat and realized, in the Western world, the connection between food and nature seems to be getting lost.
As the project moved on, I made other discoveries. Whereas food production in developing countries is often based on tradition, in London it became a lifestyle choice. Most people in my ‘Made in London’ series previously had a completely different job; they decided to transform their lives by enjoying ‘getting back to the roots’ and being in direct contact with their customers.
The two other countries are Senegal and Bolivia. By then, I became fascinated, if not obsessed with the diversity and abundance of human nourishment. As we moved away from being hunters and gatherers, the production of food has been perfected into an art form over countless generations. The forms, colours, materialities, flavours, and fragrances tell stories of the place where dishes originated as well as off the people who prepared them.
Join me and enjoy a window into the lives of small-scale food producers. The Opening Event is on Thursday, 21 March 2024, from 7pm – 10pm
Venue: Gallery 1885 at 'The Camera Club', 16 Bowden Street, London SE11 4DS
Gallery Opening Times: Monday to Friday, 11am – 10pm / Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 6pm
Public Transport: 5 min from Kennington Tube Station
Project Info: www.astridschulz.com/food-as-medicine
Info Sheet: Dom Museum Wien
*Acknowledgement: With thanks to the the Dom Museum Wien in Vienna, for selecting and printing these images for their show ‘Mahlzeit’ in 2022