
Next week sees the opening of the Textile Biennale 2021 ‘Food for Thought’ at the Museum Rijswijk, Herenstraat 67, 2282 BR Rijswijk www.museumrijswijk.nl
The Textile Biennale 2021 is titled Food for Thinking .
Many millennia ago, man started out as a hunter and gatherer of food. Satisfying hunger has always been the main goal of man. Since World War II, the number of people living below the poverty line has been at its lowest in human history. A turning point has even been reached where more people are overweight than undernourished.
Since the 1969 Rome Report, the way in which man uses natural resources has been under discussion. Overproduction, overconsumption, disposable economy, use of pesticides and artificial modification of crops have led to loss of biodiversity and climate change. It is predicted that by 2050 there will be 9.8 billion people in the world. The question that is increasingly heard is: how are we going to feed all people and at the same time maintain the balance with our beautiful nature? Experiments are being conducted with and focus on preventing food being thrown away.
It has been found that food is not only consumed to nourish the body. Food also has a social component. Eating together is a moment of contact, of connection, for many the most important moment of the day. Due to today’s fast-paced lifestyle and the increase in single-person households, this important moment in different cultures is in danger of being lost. Eating in front of your screen and preferring to eat astronaut food rather than cooking are threats of the loss of social bonding.
There is also an emotional side to food. People experience this early on as a child. Everyone knows the candy you get for comfort when you scrape your knee or as punishment for going to bed without food when you’ve been naughty. In a society of abundance, the combination of food – comfort – punishment leads to eating disorders with the extremes of bulimia and anorexia. Also, these eating disorders are about the extreme need for control over your own life and body.
The Textile Biennale 2021. Food for thought shows the personal vision of artists on this subject.
My work entitled ‘The Art of Shelf Isola-tin and Social Distance-tin’ is a collection of 33 tins created during the first lockdown of 2020 and is displayed in a vintage glass cabinet.
Sadly due to the quarantine restrictions in The Netherlands I am unable to travel to see the exhibition but I hope to see it in the not too distant future.
The Textile Biennale is open to the public from 29th August 2021 until 16 January 2022
For more info go to www.museumrijswijk.nl
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