Lately everyone has been sending me interesting links about food and art. This week a colleague of mine sent a link to an upcoming conference entitled “Molecular Cuisine: The Politics of Taste” which will be held on October 19-21 in New York. The conference focuses on the topic of taste from various perspectives including the culinary arts, sociology, art history, and science. I checked out the conference website, and was interested by the work of one of the presenters, Lisa Ma.
Lisa Ma is a speculative designer who does research that she describes as “ creating platforms of engagement between the mainstream and the fringe.” One of the research techniques that she has used includes something called “extreme use,” which is when you give someone a tool who would not usually use a tool, observe them, and use this information to create alternative solutions to situations. Some of her recent research has included looking at structures, relationships, and how to create more sustainable communities.
Ma recently was involved in a project where she spent time in a Chinese factory outside the city of Shenzhen that built videogame controllers. As part of her research, she worked, ate, made friends, and watched soap operas with the factory workers.
One concern of this factory and many others in China, is that the factory was making only one type of product, the video controller, which already are diminishing in sales, and will eventually not be used. Ma wondered what would happen to this community when the factory closes in the future, and if another revenue source could be generated.
Many of the factory workers came from a farming background, so she proposed to the factory owners that they provide opportunities for the workers to do parttime farming to generate another stream of revenue. She called this experiment “Farmification,” and that this effort could have a positive effect on the community now and in the future.
Videos, pictures, and information about the project can be seen on Ma’s website.
Image Source:
Lisa Ma – Website
Links:
Video – Lisa Ma Talking about “Farmification”