Tempest at Food Design Week in Venice

Coverage on Food24 – read here

PETRICHOR – ‘Petrichor is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek petra, meaning “stone”, and īchōr, the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.’

‘Tempest’ was designed for Venice Food Design Week 2018. It was the largest installation at Palazzo Michiel and also the prequel to the experimental dinners held each night.

Performed in Venice 2018, Cape Town 2019.
Chef & Artist: Caro Jesse – South Africa

MEDIUM

Film, sound, steel, brass, copper, water, oil, fire, smoke, honey, mushroom, moss, tar, helichrysum (imphepho) or fynbos wild rosemary (kapokbos).

Sound composition: Alessandro Gigli on Synth Flute.
Please note: If you have a bee allergy, you may experience some discomfort.

Description:
This installation is leading one, through the senses, highlighting the juxtaposition of where we are now at odds with nature, to where we should be, and where we once were, in harmony with nature.

“I feel that bees are a representation of the perfect balance of nature. The increasing fervor of the bees expresses the alarm I feel, as man continues to poison their survival through the spraying of pesticides and the gluttonous desecration of honey.

As man cannot live without the assistance of bees to pollinate his crops, he will sabotage his existence in a sickly sweet self-destruction.

The storm that follows is a chance to reconnect to nature as a whole. As the animals we truly are.

The smell of rain and the a priori feeling that comes with petrichor (the term for the smell of rain) is embedded deep within us as human animals. It calls for us to awaken to our primal connection in harmony with nature. It signifies coming awakening, growth and survival.”

The artist, as ’rain-maker’ performs a ceremony with heat, aroma, edible essences and herbal smoke that releases her own personal experience of petrichor, her instinctual connection with food and drawing sustenance from the African bush.

The mask is a connection to the African Guinea Fowl bird.

“The guinea fowl is a bird that is symbolic of human effort at survival” a quote from transcribed tapes recorded by Credo Mutwa, one of Southern Africa’s most celebrated Sangomas or witchdoctors.