︎︎︎ Visit Stephen’s website
Provocation 11: Meal at the End of the Pluriverse
1. Connect or make contact with four or two but not three people (friends, family, enemies, strangers) and/or nonhuman others (pets, wildlife, insects, plants) you would like to share a ‘meal’ with, after all is said and done.
2. Think of one ‘edible’ ingredient each that resonates with your ‘gender’ ‘age’, ‘culture’ and / or ‘politics.’ You may have to intuit in human language the ‘desires’ of your nonhuman others.
3. Draw or illustrate your ingredient as a paper cutout. Stick it onto your forehead. If you are ‘speaking for’ a nonhuman other, make sure the illustrated paper cutout covers half your face, but no more, no less.
4. Come together in an online meeting at a mutually agreeable mealtime. Which platform you choose is not important.
5. Discuss your ingredient in turn. (10 minutes total)
6. Design a recipe and method of preparation for a simple dish to share using all the ingredients in ‘equal’ parts. Write that recipe down as your group’s the first response to the provocation. Name your dish. (15 minutes)
7. Turn your cameras off, study the recipe carefully. Then blindfold yourselves, and plug your ears.
8. ‘Imagine’ eating the dish: what it tastes like, how it sounds, what does it feel like in your mouth, and most importantly listen to the voices in your head and more importantly from your gut (instinct). If you are imagining for a nonhuman other, do them justice. (10 minutes)
9. Write 20 words which the voices have told you to write. (5 minutes)
10. Come back online and share your words.
11. Compile the words as your group’s second response to the provocation.
12. Feel free to celebrate the meal with liberal amounts of alcohol. Bon appétit.
BIO:
Stephen Loo is an architect, philosopher and artist. He is Professor of Design UNSW. For more than 25 years, he has researched, taught and practiced in the transdisciplinary nexus of design, philosophy, art, performance and science. He has published widely in architecture and design theory, biophilosophy, posthumanist ethics, ecological humanities and experimental computational and digital thinking. He holds a PhD in architecture and philosophy from the University of Sydney. Recent books include Deleuze and Architecture (ed. with Helene Frichot 2012) and Poetic Biopolitics (ed. with Peg Rawes and Tim Mathhews 2016) and is currently working on Speculative Ethologies (with Dr Undine Sellbach) on the relationship between entomology, psychoanalysis and ethics. Stephen is a founding partner of award-winning design, architecture, interpretation and exhibition practice Mulloway Studio, whose projects have featured in the Venice Biennale in 2008 and 2014. He has a performance-philosophy and expanded painting art practice and has shown in Paris, Berlin, London, Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide, and is part of an international collective, The Food Project. Stephen has held Visiting Professor positions at University College London, RMIT, University of Tasmania and as External Examiner at Goldsmiths College London.
Responses:
A. Quintana
R. Goss
Recipe: Zesty potato balls with creamy cheese and survival strawberries
Ingredients: Lime, Potato, Brie Cheese, Strawberry, Energy Drink
Preparation: Boil and mash the potatoes. Add lime and form mixture into balls, deep fry. While deep frying, chop strawberries. Add energy drink and heat until boiling. Remove from heat and chill. Dip fried balls in warmed brie cheese. Serve with strawberry compote on the side.
Many of my groups descriptive words overlapped, here are the unique ones:
· crispy
· fluffy
· creamy
· golden brown
· golden
· soft
· smooth
· elastic
· rich
· deep
· flavorful
· zesty
· warm
· small
· inviting
· comfort
· easy
· finger-food
· unique
· special
· hugs
· safe
· sweet
· cheesy
· aromatic
· earthly
· savory
· tangy
· divine
· fruity
· crunchy
· velvety
· fried
· bite-sized
· warm
· love
E. Kovtun
Cherries are my favorite fruit since I was a child. I set down with my husband, opened a jar of sour cherries. I told my husband about the most delicious dish I ate when I was small. My grandmother would always make it for me. It is called vareniki. It is a traditional Ukrainian dish, even though there are variations across many Slavic countries. It is a sweet dish and is usually served with a side of sour cream. It is delicious and reminds me of my childhood. It is relatively difficult to prepare due to the making of dough. My husband and I decided to prepare it next weekend. Hopefully it will be as good as my grandma’s.
Kaitlin R.
Ingredient 1:
Noodles
(my roommate)
Noodles were chosen due to her culture and ethnicity, being Filipino, noodles are prevalent in the
culture, and for personal experience, her grandmother often makes them when the family is
together.
Ingredient 2:
Spices
(her boyfriend)
Spice (spices) were chosen since our generation (all of us being generation z) is “spicy”,
compared to our preceding generations, and as a spice, is, we are all individual flavors blending
together to create a uniform taste.
Ingredient 3:
Hard boiled egg
(me)
Egg was chosen since it is something that can be prepared in many ways, the many ways make
me think of gender, and how it is a spectrum, rather than one way or another, and I myself am
something I was not assigned to. I see myself as a hard boiled egg, born as an egg, but chose to
hard boil.
Ingredient 4:
Seafood broth
(my roommate’s cat)
Seafood broth was chosen simply because this was the ingredient contributed by the cat, as she is
a cat, seafood simply seemed fitting.
Our recipe
Chosen to be seafood ramen
1 cup noodle and broth (for equal use)
Spices
4 eggs (for cutting in half)
- Bring broth to a boil and add in seasonings, gently lower noodles into broth and let cook until
tender.
- Once noodles are cooked, proportion to bowls and pour broth in to create soup
- Cut the eggs in half and lay on top
- Serve hot and enjoy
The taste:
Fishy
Salty
Savory
Chewy
Warm
Filling
Creamy
Comfort
Rain
Love
Aromatic
Delicate
Umami
Rich
Textures
Satisfying
Briny
Hardy
Balanced
Art