Traditional breakfast at Tamahan Ryokan, Kyoto; Wiki Commons
“Craftsmanship has a special vitality as a direct human answer to a direct human need. As is said, eating calls for as much satisfaction from the right kind of spoon as from the food to be eaten.”
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1964)
Home-cooked food is more nourishing than a meal produced in a factory. It’s not just a matter of ingredients. The human hand imbues the cooking with a sense of care gives us the confidence to enjoy its flavours.
The same applies to the implements with which we eat and drink. The experience of eating off a delicately glazed porcelain plate is qualitatively different to exactly the same food delivered on plasticware.
A key part of the restaurant trade is the makers of objects that ensure eating and drinking are more than merely filling our stomachs. Well-made and designed implements slow down our consumption, help us share our pleasure with others and give our meals a symbolic meaning.
The same also applies to kitchen utensils. There’s more satisfaction in stirring the soup with a beautifully carved wooden spoon than with a plastic spatula.
For our March issue, Garland salutes our Taste-makers with an online exhibition of objects that enhance the experience and meaning of what we eat and drink. Examples of objects include vessels, crockery, cutlery, pots, napkins, straws, kitchen utensils or other items associated with eating and drinking. This exhibition will help us better understand the value of these objects, as well as promote this beautifully useful applied craft.
In 2023, we will publish a series of issues on the non-visual senses. The first of these is on Taste, to be published in March 2023.
We would like to profile makers who enhance the experience and meaning of what we eat and drink. To this end, we will publish an online exhibition Taste-makers.
You are invited to submit images of your work by 1 February.
Images
This includes two images: one of the object alone and one with accompanying food and/or drink.
The images should be at least 1200 pixels wide.
Text
The text should be less than 300 words and include:
- A description of the object including how it was made, materials used and the thinking behind it.
- Background to your practice, including your location and type of operation
- How people can connect with you.
Submit
You can submit your work and text using this online form also available below..
Submissions are due on 1 February 2023.
Publication
The online exhibition will be published on 1 March 2023 and shared through our social media.
