YOU ARE HUNGRY: Mapping an Edible Urban Hackney - 01–30 Sep 2010 / Space Studios, London
Can you feed the 2,150 urban residents, that live within 500 metres of the SPACE gallery, using the 25 hectares of land that houses them? “YOU ARE HUNGRY” is a proposal to investigate this question through the creation of an "Edible Map” which displays the potential ‘agricultural’ yields the immediate streets, parks and grassed areas around the Space Gallery could produce. This will allowing the itinerant urban resident or visitor to visualise what percentage of their current diet could be achieved using locally grown food within a particular session. The basic question of local food growing is linked to the wider crucial debate surrounding the need to reduce our carbon footprint and create sustainable cities. It is widely accepted that food production, distribution and consumption are major contributors to current environmental dystopias. However, Scientists, National Governments and International Policy makers currently lead this debate. Their currency is Green House Gas emissions, Carbon equivalents and a wealth of technological data, which sits in the abstract, at odds against the rhythms and routines of our hourly and daily food consuming obligations. Therefore, there is a need for artistic practices to respond to the data-pollution of the dominant political and scientific discourses with visualisation tools, which facilitate educated, provocative and creative interventions. The Edible Map is one such visualisation tool. Drawing over the usual cadastral A-Z map, The Edible Map intervens with new signposts, icons and graphics that translate ideas of “local food” into tangible, interactive and playful narratives, thus reconnecting people to a sense of place through food growing. There are two ways that you can interact with the project. First, as part of a psychogeographical food walk through the streets of East London during June 2010, accompanied by Mikey Tomkins (dates and times to be specified but you can leave a request at [email protected]). Second, to view, comment and record your opinions about the potential for food growing in East London at the digital version of the edible map. This is available at http://www.mikeytomkins.co.uk/work/edible-maps/. Mikey Tomkins, local beekeeper and PhD student at the University of Brighton has created the project. There will be 20 places available. The walk also includes a visit to the rooftop hives of the Space gallery. This visit is only available to the first 8 walkers! Schedule and booking details TBC http://www.mikeytomkins.co.uk/work/edible-maps/ -- Olga P Massanet -------------------------- www.ungravitational.net virtualfirefly.wordpress.com www.vimeo.com/ungravitational _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
