Description

The vacuum packed food items in the earth affords them no food at all (2017)  represent various Australian food culture narratives from pre-colonisation to a contemporary context.

‘the earth affords them no food at all’ is a quote from English coloniser William Dampier in 1697 when surveying the Australian landscape. This quote is a departure point for the work and highlights an inability to recognise and value existing culture/s.

The vacuum bagged food speaks to the history of displacement and evolving food culture in Australia – from Indigenous foods to introduced crops to introduced weeds, to early colonial settlement foods, to uniquely ‘Australian’ industrialised foods, to various waves of immigration, post-war foods, to contemporary food culture. These items are sealed, pressed and displayed in a manner reminiscent of botanical studies.

the earth affords them no food at all 2017
Vacuum-sealed food storage bags, food
Commissioned by Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane for Material Politics