An old proverb in India –
Daane Daane pe likha hai khaane waale ka Naam.
(On every grain is inscribed the name of the person who eats it.)
It implies that whoever eats the food is the one for whom it was meant. Thus, it serves as a guilt-remover of sorts, if one has eaten something that was meant for someone else.
In this performance intervention I examine this phrase in a global context of the food growers and the food consumers. A lot of food that we take for granted is grown by some of the poorest people in the world, in faraway lands. Quite often they do not have enough to eat themselves, in spite of being the cultivators; while the food they grow with their sweat and blood travels huge distances across the world to be relished by someone else.
The question therefore is, ‘who chooses the names that are inscribed on each grain?
The Performances resulted in six spray painting works. Fruits and vegetables from the third world, that are commonly available in the local stores in Switzerland, were used to create the text patterns for the paintings.
Performed at:
– KW Performances – Kunstraum Waldhouse, Zurich. Jan 17, Feb 02, & 09, 2019
