Edible Notions

Edible Notions is an ins­tal­la­ti­on that explo­res dif­fe­ren­ti­al per­s­pec­ti­ves thro­ugh the medi­um of the com­mon bioma­te­ri­als of our food that have been heavily tec­h­no­lo­gi­zed. Beginning with the pre­mi­se that per­s­pec­ti­ves repre­sent our par­ti­cu­lar atti­tu­des toward the wor­ld and sha­pe our rela­ti­on­ships with it, this ins­tal­la­ti­on promp­ts a reflec­ti­on on which per­s­pec­ti­ves are being over­lo­oked or have evol­ved over time. This inqu­iry is espe­ci­al­ly per­ti­nent as the­se per­s­pec­ti­ves are being passed into the emer­ging tec­h­no­lo­gi­es that will sha­pe our futu­re. For ins­tan­ce, the per­s­pec­ti­ves we embed in neural networ­ks of arti­fi­ci­al intel­li­gen­ce may per­pe­tu­ate our biases or, alter­na­ti­vely, intro­du­ce diver­se inter­pre­ta­ti­ons of events and objec­ts. Edible Notions explo­res the bioma­te­ri­als that cre­ate our food and dishes, taking a deeper look into the­ir inner nar­ra­ti­ves, cul­tu­ral and tec­h­no­lo­gi­cal sto­ri­es. The pro­ject seeks to draw paral­lels betwe­en our biolo­gi­cal feed and the men­tal inta­ke of tho­ug­h­ts, which popu­la­tes the pre­ca­ri­ous or vast types of data­sets feeding our cur­rent arti­fi­ci­al intel­li­gen­ce networ­ks. Through a dining expe­ri­en­ce featu­ring spe­cu­la­ti­ve dishes repre­sen­ting toma­to­es, avo­ca­dos, and psi­locybin mus­hro­oms, the artwork del­ves into the com­plex nar­ra­ti­ves of the­se biomaterials—stories of colo­ni­za­ti­on, cul­tu­ral sig­ni­fi­can­ce, and tec­h­no­lo­gi­cal reima­gi­na­ti­on. Accompanied by audi­ovi­su­al ele­ments, the ins­tal­la­ti­on invi­tes visi­tors to reflect on the biases embed­ded in our food sys­tems and how AI and tec­h­no­logy can enhan­ce, reve­al, dis­tort, or resha­pe the­se nar­ra­ti­ves. It’s a feast that chal­len­ges our under­stan­ding of daily objec­ts of nurture. 

a: Laura Rodriguez

Laura Elidedt Rodriguez is a mul­ti­me­dia artist and cura­tor living in the Netherlands, who com­bi­nes art, sci­en­ce and edu­ca­ti­on in her work. Through his knowled­ge acqu­ired in the under­gra­du­ate study of biotec­h­no­logy engi­ne­ering, gra­du­ate study in mole­cu­lar biology and addi­ti­onal gra­du­ate in arts and sci­en­ces, she explo­res the lin­ks betwe­en living orga­ni­sms and the tec­h­no­lo­gi­cal wor­ld, expo­sing hid­den rela­ti­on­ships, empat­hy and the­ir mutu­al kin­ship. In her wor­ks, she imple­ments the fol­k­lo­re of Mexico and post-huma­nist phi­lo­sop­hy with new media and spe­cu­la­ti­ve design. In 2021, she was also awar­ded the Kuryokhin Prize in the cate­gory of art and science.