‘Food Forward’
15 January–1 April 2012
Opening:
Saturday 14 January, 5pm
Stroom Den Haag
Hogewal 1-9
2514 HA The Hague
The Netherlands
Hours:
Wednesday–Sunday, Noon–5pm
T +31-70 3658985
info [at] stroom.nl
The exhibition ‘Food Forward’ presents scenarios for the future of our food based on the work of artists and designers. Uncomfortable and alienating they may be, the scenarios pay attention to the imminent threat and ever-growing problem of how we will feed ourselves in the future. The starting point of the exhibition is the video ‘The Hunt’ by Christian Jankowski (DE) that humorously puts the estrangement between city dwellers and food on edge. John O’Shea (UK) pushes the limits of the law in his attempts to achieve a more humane meat production and meat consumption scheme. Michiko Nitta and Michael Burton (UK) present two scenarios from their larger study of life after agriculture: the symbiosis between humans and algae and a dictatorial and purely functional food regime. Finally, the project ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’ by Arne Hendriks (NL) explores the possibilities and consequences of shrinking men to 50 centimeters.
While some of the future visions presented might seem more realistic or plausible than others, all of them are rooted in today’s scientific research and existing or developing applications. The proposals in ‘Food Forward’ go much further than city farms and urban gardening. The artists in the exhibition present far-reaching visualizations and scenarios for the future and thus enquire if we are still asking the right questions. Will there be a need for urban farming, if we agree to grow food in laboratories? Should we focus our attention to increasing or altering current food production systems or should we switch gears and focus on how we can alter humans and/or their consumption patterns to diminish the need for food?
With Arne Hendriks (NL), Christian Jankowski (DE), Michiko Nitta and Michael Burton (UK) and John O’Shea.
Curator: Karen Verschooren (Z33, Hasselt, BE)
Stroom School:
A public program of guided tours and lectures will accompany the exhibition.
Acknowledgement:
Mondriaan Foundation, The Netherlands Architecture Fund, Koppert Cress, Dunne & Raby.
Food Tribunal and publication ‘Food for the City’
In the spring of 2012 the exhibition ‘Food Forward’ will be followed by a food tribunal and the publication of ‘Food for the City. A Future for the Metropolis’ (in collaboration with NAi Publishers).
For up-to-date information please check: www.stroom.nl
