Diet plan for the Western man
Performance
2018
Can nationalism hijack food? Is a food system a system of oppression? What is the role of food in emphasising difference? Do we choose what we eat, or does our food choose us?
Diet plan for the Western man is a performative lecture where, with the help of pop culture, art, history, anthropology, ethical dilemmas, and intricate histories, I work through issues related to the symbolic functions of food, its place within cultural practices, and the ethics of eating. We read Indiana Jones, sing a nursing song about eating badly behaved babies, discuss chocolate production and punishment, the historic accusation of cannibalism in creating otherness, among other things.
The centrepiece of the show is a distorted table which doubles as both stage and surface to eat, around which an audience of 32 sits in uncomfortable stools, very close to each other, in a reversal of the traditional pleasant dining experience.
During the performance the audience is treated to six small bizarre foods – created specifically for the occasion by a now Michelin-starred chef –, which are used to create discomfort and highlight and emphasise the issues at stake. The audience isn’t told what they are eating until the show is over, but they are given dehydrated pig noses with unknown mousses to lick, gold dust covered chocolate hands they have to break in order to eat the fingers, and babies that ooze red when bitten into.
Artistic direction, research, and performance
Carlos Azeredo Mesquita
Direction assistance and performance
Luísa Saraiva
Gastronomic creation and performance
Vasco Coelho Santos/Euskalduna Studio
with and assisted by
João Costa
Associate researcher
Andrés Sarabia
Set design
Nuno Pimenta
Music and sound design
Julius Gabriel
Costumes
Carlos Azeredo Mesquita
Luísa Saraiva
We the Knot
Produced by
Calote Esférica/Carlos Azeredo Mesquita
Co-produced by
10th Berlin Biennale
Funded by
Porto City Council/Criatório
DGArtes – Direcção-Geral das Artes/República Portuguesa
Instituto Camões in Berlin
Supported by
Circolando
Duration
50 minutes
Shows
Berlin Biennale (curated by Thiago de Paula Souza) at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
August 24, 2018
Teatro Municipal do Porto at Ateneu Comercial do Porto
April 11–13, 2019
Watch the full 50 minutes video documentation
Shows / Photo credits
Teatro Municipal do Porto at Ateneu Comercial do Porto / Dinis Santos
Diet plan for the Western man
Performance
2018
Can nationalism hijack food? Is a food system a system of oppression? What is the role of food in emphasising difference? Do we choose what we eat, or does our food choose us?
Diet plan for the Western man is a performative lecture where, with the help of pop culture, art, history, anthropology, ethical dilemmas, and intricate histories, I work through issues related to the symbolic functions of food, its place within cultural practices, and the ethics of eating. We read Indiana Jones, sing a nursing song about eating badly behaved babies, discuss chocolate production and punishment, the historic accusation of cannibalism in creating otherness, among other things.
The centrepiece of the show is a distorted table which doubles as both stage and surface to eat, around which an audience of 32 sits in uncomfortable stools, very close to each other, in a reversal of the traditional pleasant dining experience.
During the performance the audience is treated to six small bizarre foods – created specifically for the occasion by a now Michelin-starred chef –, which are used to create discomfort and highlight and emphasise the issues at stake. The audience isn’t told what they are eating until the show is over, but they are given dehydrated pig noses with unknown mousses to lick, gold dust covered chocolate hands they have to break in order to eat the fingers, and babies that ooze red when bitten into.
Artistic direction, research, and performance
Carlos Azeredo Mesquita
Direction assistance and performance
Luísa Saraiva
Gastronomic creation and performance
Vasco Coelho Santos/Euskalduna Studio
with and assisted by
João Costa
Associate researcher
Andrés Sarabia
Set design
Nuno Pimenta
Music and sound design
Julius Gabriel
Costumes
Carlos Azeredo Mesquita
Luísa Saraiva
We the Knot
Produced by
Calote Esférica/Carlos Azeredo Mesquita
Co-produced by
10th Berlin Biennale
Funded by
Porto City Council/Criatório
DGArtes – Direcção-Geral das Artes/República Portuguesa
Instituto Camões in Berlin
Supported by
Circolando
Duration
50 minutes
Shows
Berlin Biennale (curated by Thiago de Paula Souza) at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin
August 24, 2018
Teatro Municipal do Porto at Ateneu Comercial do Porto
April 11–13, 2019
Watch the full 50 minutes video documentation
Shows / Photo credits
Teatro Municipal do Porto at Ateneu Comercial do Porto / Dinis Santos