SALT OF THE EARTH
Feldfünf, Berlin, July 2020
Solo presentation with Anna Banout
Curated by Clementine Butler-Gallie
Salt of the Earth is a research-based, artistic investigation with bread as the protagonist. In this first iteration of the project at Feldfünf, Banout explores the theme through the process of storytelling and memory sharing.
See full text and workshop information below.
Bread is a universal symbol of gathering and sharing, a basic feature of many global cuisines. To throw bread away is a sin against the generations who grew up in times of poverty and food shortage. Bread can be a bargaining card in political conflicts; a tangible source of survival for some, whilst elsewhere its abundance generates such waste that competitions to devour 100 pieces of bread in 5 minutes become a feasible source of entertainment.
Salt of the Earth is a research-based, artistic investigation with bread as the protagonist. In this first iteration of the project at Feldfünf, Banout explores the theme through the process of storytelling and memory sharing.
Over the last months, Banout asked a number of people to simply share one story about bread. These independent narratives have been woven together to form seven stories, a gesture that looks to perform diversity as togetherness. Banout has visualised each interlaced story using just one loaf of stale bread and one batch of fresh dough as the material. The resulting representations are seven photographic works on paper, presented as if notes from an archive. The breaded sculptures appear as archeological discoveries with the story extracts acting as clues to their identification.
A box of texts sits in the middle of the room, a typewriter by its side. For the iteration of ‘Salt of the Earth’ at Fedfünf, the story-gathering process continues. The audience is invited to add to the ongoing archive by sharing their story of bread, which will, in turn, be interwoven with others and visualised by Banout.
Salt of the Earth Workshop Series
As part of the project, Banout and Butler-Gallie collaborated in conceptualising a workshop model. The structure of the workshop explores bread through the personal, political and material.
The structure is made up of a series of group activities including sharing food, reading, memory sharing, and a sculpting session. These exercises are organised to encourage group conversation around bread as a medium, cultural symbol, historic icon, culinary ingredient, and force to gather diverse groups together.
