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... is the title of John Yeadon's exhibition on food at Browns cafe/bar in Coventry. Other than nutrition and 'taste', food is closely related to bodily functions. Food is to eating, what humour is to laughter. Yeadon's images of food, presented as archetypes, spring directly from his work on body parts, specifically, mouths, lips and tongues. He believes that our attitudes to food are deeply subjective and that we have strong opinions, likes and dislikes, even loves and hates.
He says I There exists a primordial psychological relationship with food and, like sexuality, our attitudes and 'hang ups' are formed at an early age. And, as with sex, food is sensual, even visceral. Images of food constitute a major genre of advertising and may be considered obscene in ways comparable with pornography. Yeadon prefers the 'readers wives' photographs of food, the amateur over the professional - raw, vulgar and awkward (good, bad photography).
This collection of images is a site specific installation that parallels similar images in other eateries, such as the light box images of burgers in McDonalds. The sets of images, with text and lists, represent a collision and confusion of categories. The words relating to the food were randomly selected, but were rejected if the juxtaposition suggested a particular meaning or relationship. I If the words make sense, Yeadon explains, I I don't use them. However, the broad themes deal with national identity and culture. Food is political and central to national and ethnic identity, but national identity, along with the national character, is a myth, a construct.
Our traditions are inventions and everything has a history. Fish
and chips, for instance, was introduced to the East End of London
by Jewish immigrants in the 19th century. Our assumptions about what
is quintessentially English or even European are usually erroneous.
English culture stems from a distant and diverse past and is the product
of a multiplicity of cultures and traditions brought about by invasion,
trade, theft, colonialism, Empire and immigration. Bon appétit!
MM5
