DIET PLAN FOR THE WESTERN MAN
Can nationalism hijack food? Is a food system a system of oppression? Do we choose what we eat or does our food choose us? What is the role of food in emphasizing difference and otherness?
"Diet plan for the Western man" is a performative lecture where the symbolic is ingested while meanings are digested.
With the help of pop culture, art, history, anthropology, ethical dilemmas, and intricate histories will work through issues related to the symbolic functions of food, its place within cultural practices and the ethics of eating.
The centrepiece of the show is a distorted table which doubles as both stage and surface to eat. The table has different heights and a winding shape, around which an audience of 32 people is sitting in uncomfortable stools very close to each other in a reversing of the traditional dinning experience.
During the performance the audience is treated to six small bizarre foods created specifically for the occasion, which are used to highlight and emphasize the issues at stake.
Not recommended for strict vegans, food intolerant personalities, or allergy-prone metabolisms.
Berlin Biennale at KW Institute for Contemporary Art (premiere)
August 24, 2018
Berlin, DE
Teatro Municipal do Porto at Ateneu Comercial do Porto
April 11–13, 2019
Porto, PT
Diet plan for the Western man
Created, researched and performed by: Carlos Azeredo Mesquita
Co-created and performed by: Luísa Saraiva
Associate researcher: Andrés Sarabia
Set design: Nuno Pimenta
Gastronomic creation: Vasco Coelho Santos (Euskalduna Studio), assisted by João Costa
Music and sound design: Julius Gabriel
Costumes: the performers with We the Knot
Commissioned by: 10th Berlin Biennale
Supported by:
Câmara Municipal do Porto
Direcção Geral das Artes
Instituto Camões in Berlin
Duration: 50 minutes
A full length video of performance is available. In case you would like to see it, please contact me.
