foodscape developed for Be Nice exhibition by Manon Malan & Lisa Meijer
integrated in Manon Malan's work “Ich Sehe Rot Project”
with the participation of artists: Romy Bauer and Marie van Haaster

Working from the contrast of delicate/compliance to sharp/anger, I translated the general concept (reflecting on our everlasting heritage of repressed feelings: being nice to avoid conflict, smiling for the sake of pleasin) into a food scape partly inspired by the film Daisies (1966, dir. Vera Ctylova) - a cinematic turning point in gender emancipation that follows two mischievous protagonists challenging every norm through playful misconduct, involving a lot of food as supporting character. From using scissors as eating utensils (sectioning through phallic ingredients such as gherkins, bananas or sausages) to expressing feelings through eggs. And partly inspired by my personal experience as a woman growing up in deeply orthodox and mainly patriarchal Eastern Europe, where compliance and being nice were key elements to becoming a functional member of society. Combining these elements, I put together a table set-up that starts off as orderly, delicate and neutral and ends in bloody, sharp misconduct. Using taste, texture & ingredients to illustrate the transition from compliance -frustration - anger. Compliance is white, soft, fluffy and accommodating. Neutral, palatable tastes, the softness of butter laced with geranium flowers (a recurring motif in Manon's installation). While frustration is muffled, bitter and unexpected, hidden in delicate form. Anger is spicy, sharp, acidic, splashes over the dinner table, and makes no excuses. Nothing is entirely what it looks like and guests are invited to defy eating etiquette, use their hands, scissors and their imagination to participate. 

photos: Lisa Meijer I Manon Malan I Mar Gimeno Lumbiares