FLATWARE FOR CONVERSATION

2019

Inspired by the Steinbeisser organisation, I wanted to tackle the issue of mindless eating and bring awareness to sustainable food practices. I created flatware using soft, precious jewellery metals as well as made some ceramic beads, to create creature-like objects that promoted play before function.

Exhibited at our Work In Progress Exhibition at the Locksbrook Campus in Bath for 2 days, visitors were encouraged to use the flatware and eat the locally sourced and sustainably made plant-based apple crumble. The flatware, while not entirely functional, served its purpose in sparking conversation about sustainable eating and bringing strangers together in the intimate act of eating.

Should we play with our food? There is a certain point in our lives when our parents stop thinking we look cute getting food everywhere and start showing us how to hold cutlery properly. My flatware aims to challenge ‘the right way to eat’ and bring an element of play back into dining. Play is important as it makes people slow down and think, and that’s exactly what we need to do when it comes to consuming food.

CREATIVE PROCESS

Designing and making the flatware was only half the challenge as I had to accompany them with a dessert that would encompass everything I was trying to communicate through my project. For our 2019 Work in Progress Event, I decided to run an interactive ‘taster’ workshop where people would get to experience the flatware along with a sustainable, ethical and local plant-based Apple Crumble.

Since I was located in Somerset, UK at the time, I thought that the Apple Crumble was the perfect candidate for a British dessert that could be easily made sustainably vegan and sourced locally. The challenge of creating the dessert and sourcing the ingredients were documented and displayed on cards as part of the exhibition, so that while visitors would attempt to eat from my playful yet ultimately impractical flatware, they could also think and discuss about the origin of ingredients and their environmental impact.