Food Stories is an action that originated from and revolves around exploring traditional dishes. This action involves preparing meals, chatting, and sharing stories about the dish in the making, which turns it into a journey through time.
It is a research endeavor to question how we live/lived together and how the variety of cultural histories are preserved through dishes and their ingredients. We could call it an ethical kitchen. Through the act of sharing the sensuality of working with our hands that emerges from food preparation, we interact with the past, reentering the idea of a complete cycle.
Il papà del gonco, 2023
This ongoing project, Food Stories, began with making gnocchi.
The action of making the dish gnocchi connects with the story of the maskers called "Il papà del gonco", exploring its history that dates back to 1600 in Verona as a window into ingredients and social dynamics. While researching and preparing the dish, new narratives and oral stories evolve through the gestures of making, eating, and sharing.
Pandibosco (Forest’s bread), 2024
Cooking-action (Knödel cooking), HD short film projection with sound, 11“33‘. Wooden Cuttingboards with Drawings of mytholo- giecal creatures in various sizes.
The installation and cooking-action ‚Pandibosco‘ is part of an ongoing project called Food Stories, focusing on mythologies, oral narratives, and cultural heritage. Traditional dishes of poor cuisine activate a rich narrative and showcase cultural and geographical interconnections.
‘Pandibosco’ specifically revives the Speck-Knödel dish from the Alpine area. Primarily, the dish is made from old hard bread; the option with meat was a rarity and reserved for special occasions and celebrations. South Tyrol, as a focus, is a crossroad in the Alpsand reflects diverse cultural influences. The earliest known depicti- ons of dumplings and intercultural exchange are found in chapelsof 12th-century frescoes, titled ‘Knödelesserin’ and the ‘Bestiarium‘. These testimonials are fragments of a time that show the great movements of stories and folk tales.
The cooking action is part of the installation. An HD film accompa- nies the participant with interviews of nuns from a south tyrolian convent, sharing their childhood memories and the changing food culture during the 1930s-1950s. The center of attention during the cooking is the wooden cutting boards, which are activated during the preparation of the dish. We find creatures inspired by the ancient fre- scoes ‚the Bestiarium‘, drawn in detail depicting scenes from Greek mythology and Mesopotamian creatures. These mythical creatures highlight the far-reaching nature of stories, resonating with the alpine folklore of witches, ghosts, trolls.
It is a research endeavor to question how we live/lived together and how the variety of cultural histories are preserved through dishes and their ingredients. We could call it an ethical kitchen. Through the act of sharing the sensuality of working with our hands that emerges from food preparation, we interact with the past, reentering the idea of a complete cycle.
Il papà del gonco, 2023
This ongoing project, Food Stories, began with making gnocchi.
The action of making the dish gnocchi connects with the story of the maskers called "Il papà del gonco", exploring its history that dates back to 1600 in Verona as a window into ingredients and social dynamics. While researching and preparing the dish, new narratives and oral stories evolve through the gestures of making, eating, and sharing.
Pandibosco (Forest’s bread), 2024
Cooking-action (Knödel cooking), HD short film projection with sound, 11“33‘. Wooden Cuttingboards with Drawings of mytholo- giecal creatures in various sizes.
The installation and cooking-action ‚Pandibosco‘ is part of an ongoing project called Food Stories, focusing on mythologies, oral narratives, and cultural heritage. Traditional dishes of poor cuisine activate a rich narrative and showcase cultural and geographical interconnections.
‘Pandibosco’ specifically revives the Speck-Knödel dish from the Alpine area. Primarily, the dish is made from old hard bread; the option with meat was a rarity and reserved for special occasions and celebrations. South Tyrol, as a focus, is a crossroad in the Alpsand reflects diverse cultural influences. The earliest known depicti- ons of dumplings and intercultural exchange are found in chapelsof 12th-century frescoes, titled ‘Knödelesserin’ and the ‘Bestiarium‘. These testimonials are fragments of a time that show the great movements of stories and folk tales.
The cooking action is part of the installation. An HD film accompa- nies the participant with interviews of nuns from a south tyrolian convent, sharing their childhood memories and the changing food culture during the 1930s-1950s. The center of attention during the cooking is the wooden cutting boards, which are activated during the preparation of the dish. We find creatures inspired by the ancient fre- scoes ‚the Bestiarium‘, drawn in detail depicting scenes from Greek mythology and Mesopotamian creatures. These mythical creatures highlight the far-reaching nature of stories, resonating with the alpine folklore of witches, ghosts, trolls.
