FEED
In 2006 I traveled to Madonna dei Miracoli, a small town in Abruzzo, Italy and recorded several women preparing a variety of local dishes in their kitchens. I produced 25 single channel videos that are each 15 minutes in length. These videos were then inserted into a grid format to be installed as a large wall projection. These recipes were passed on to successive generations, predominantly by physical demonstration. This project does not claim to present a definitive way to prepare food but rather to discover the similarities and differences of how women in specific communities reinterpret the aural/oral tradition of collecting recipes.
These cooking videos were first exhibited as a video installation titled "Feed" at the Owens Art Gallery in Sackville New Brunswick (Fall 2010), and travelled to the Mount Saint Vincent University Art Gallery in Halifax Nova Scotia (Fall 2011). Other versions of the installation have been exhibited at Red Head Gallery, Toronto (Summer 2013), and included in curated group exhibitions at the Living Arts Centre, Mississauga (2015, Megan Press), Museum London (Acquired Tastes, 2016), Doris McCarthy Gallery, Scarborough (Place Settings, Anya Baker, Leah Moncada & Madeline Smolarz, 2016) and Montreal arts interculturels and Videographe, Montreal (2019, Le je et le nous - The I and the We, Zoe Chan). At the Owens Art Gallery, in addition to the large projection, in an adjacent room, the single channel videos were installed on 6 monitors within a dinning room setting. The accompanying exhibition catalogue includes an essay by art historian Dr. Jayne Wark (2010).
I would like to thank the women who invited me into their kitchens: Giulia Di Risio, Filomena Di Risio, Elisa Di Risio, Rosa Di Risio, Lucia Molisani, Roselba D’Ottavio, Lina Della Penna, Gina Carusi, and Mirna Molisani.
The exhibition of this work would not have been possible without the support from the following people: Renate Di Risio, Nick Di Risio, Antonietta Della Penna Di Risio, Sofia Di Risio, Peter Dykhuis, Aaron Schmidt, Eleanor King, Aimée Brown, Jennifer Simaitis, Mary-Anne Wensley, Linda Bartlett and Robert Zingone.
For their assistance with the Owens exhibition and publication, I would like to thank Jayne Wark, Leah Garnett, Kathleen Tetlock, Gemey Kelly, Roxy Ibbiston, Lucy MacDonald, John Murchie, and Ingrid Jenkner.
This project received funding support from the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage and the Centre for Art Tapes’ Local Artist in Residence Program 2007/2008. Documentation at the Owens Art Gallery by Robert Zingone and Roger Smith, 2010.