Triptych Food-Form
Process result ‘Food-Forms’: tilted triangle (grounded coffee and charcoal dust), lowered square (maize and cassava flour) and centered circle (Nestlé strawberry powder and maize flour) 3 smaller works as a result in the ‘process of preparation’ of an installation ‘past / present / future’.
dated 2017 until 2017
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Food Triptych
2017
Food triptych:
Triangle, square and circle in a new context together, as the food powders and charcoal add new layers.
This 3 panel work tells a more complex story than just triangle, square and circle.
Remember your first mathematics lessons where these forms popped up with all kind of different equations to be solved? Visiting Zambian and Malawian schools does realize that this is universal. Visiting many cultural places (amongst them Mua Mission Malawi and Wayiwayi Art Studio and Gallery in Livingstone, Zambia) several examples where found of the use of circle, triangle and square as general used symbols and in Africa this history goes way back in time and maybe even before they popped up in Europe.
These forms where, later in history, the main building blocks (though he spoke about sphere, cone, cube and cilinder) in the theoratical approach of Paul Cezanne (which finally led to cubism) and heavily used in the art movement minimalism and post-minimalism. In the art practise here is is also used on a regular bases as honour to minimalism and post-minimalism. In the African context here, it is more used as a start to explore the use of these forms / symbols in Zambia and Malawi and try to find historical evidence of their already long existence.
Tilted triangle
2017
'Tilted Triangel'
Grounded Malawian coffee, Charcoal dust, wood glue and varnish spray-paint on canvas
44,5cm x 75cm x 3cm
Color black charcoal is used here because it is “overused” in Malawi for cooking (probably as result of deep poverty and the lack of payable alternatives) and leads to further deforestation. Farming did the first large stretch of deforestation and still does.
Color brown Malawian grounded Coffee is used here as a product to 'paint' with as coffee is a "luxurious" product and a product that stands for unfair payments to (a lot of) coffee farmers (who hardly can afford coffee themselves) for the enrichment for a few dealers and some multinationals.
Using food powder as colors is ethically not so easy. Using 1kg of this Nestlé powder, 1kg of maize flour, 500 grams of coffee and 500 grams of cassava flour as an art material is not spoiling food, but transforming a food item into important necessary art-material into an artwork which meaning would not be there if another, normal art material (paint) would be used. In the context of Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, this is not so easy, but important to state.
Lowered Square
2017
'Lowered square'
Maize and cassava flour, wood glue and varnish spray-paint.
44,5cm x 75cm x 3cm
Color ‘white crème’ Cassava is in this series because it represents one of the "original" staple foods (besides sorghum, ) in Malawi (and Zambia) before maize took over (as it took over diversity, the staple food market and “food” politics). Cassava represents tradition and maybe a look back to the older and maybe "better" days for some (farmers and poor people depending highly on this “easy accessible” staple food which better suited the local conditions and environment).
Color ‘Natural white’ maize flour is used here as pointing out its present day’s main staple food source after it took over this staple food market, it minimalized diversity (representing monoculture) and it stands for its political use (it keeps the poor farmers poor) in Africa (Zambia and Malawi) as much it stands for more deforestation and a not so healthy main food source (white carbohydrates = sugar) under the less privileged,
Centered Circle
2017
'Centered circle'
Nestle strawberry drink powder and Maize flour, wood glue and varnish spray-paint
44,5cm x 75cm x 3cm
Color pink is coming from Nestlé strawberry drink power and using a food item from Nestlé, I want to point out I'm interested in the taunting role of the 10 main food multinationals (Nestlé / Unilever / KraftHeinz (2015) / Coca-Cola / Pepsico / Kellogg's / Johnson&Johnson / P&G / Mars / General Mills (beware of the sudden changes of fusions in this world)(source: Huffingtonpost).
With taunting is meant: getting rich over the back of the poor (maybe a side affect, but it is a known side effect which could and should be prevented), the history of exploitation of poor people in poor countries (in Africa: Unilever) and their role in the inequality of food distribution over de world and the almost monopoly possession of resources (money and other sources). I’m not saying they all do this or they all do this in the same extent, but they are all multinationals, containing huge amount of power and money in a way which is repulsive.
Color ‘Natural white’ maize flour is used here as pointing out its present day’s main staple food source after it took over this staple food market, it minimalized diversity and it stands for its political use (it keeps the poor farmers poor) in Africa (Zambia and Malawi) as much it stands for more deforestation and a not so healthy main food source (white carbohydrates = sugar) under the less privileged.