The Schokoladen

the cornelia erdmann brendan goh edited by hazel lim

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seed点,

ideas everywhere

978-988-17635-4-9 Published by laiyanprojects Limited and seed | projects in 2011 with the exhibition, The Schokoladen, from 8 Jan to 16 Jan at laiyangallery, Hong Kong SAR in conjunction with the Fotanian Open Studios 2011. Typeset in Segoe UI and Lucida Grande © 2011 laiyanprojects Limited, seed | projects, Cornelia Erdmann and Brendan Goh. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers.

Editing Hazel Lim Art Direction Cornelia Erdmann Layout and Design Brendan Goh Cornelia Erdmann Texts Cornelia Erdmann Brendan Goh Photography Sonia Yu Gar Wai Auke Touwslager Proofreading Frank Erdmann Special Thanks Anton Erdmann Benz Peter Benz Jelena Radovic

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seed点,

ideas everywhere

laiyanprojects Limited Wah Luen Industrial Center Block B, 16/F, Unit 18 15-21 Wong Chuk Yong Street Fo Tan, Shatin Hong Kong SAR

seed | projects SingPost Box 880146 Singapore 919191

 (+852) 3568 6110  info@laiyanprojects.com  www.laiyanprojects.com

 (+65) 9673 6958  the.postman@seed.sg  www.seed.sg

laiyanprojects is a creative platform that fuses art and design within its practice, covering projects ranging from public art to graphic design, from art curation to imaginative problem solving in the creative industry.

seed | projects facilitates creative processes between art and design, sowing ideas wherever they might sprout and catalysing their germination into better things.

There is a communion of more than our bodies when bread is broken and wine drunk. And that is my answer, when people ask me: Why do you write about hunger and not of wars or love? M.F.K. Fisher

between art and food: a conversation

zuckerwerk

fo tan factories

taste mapping

everything with chocolate

between art and food: a conversation Interview by Hazel Lim

Hazel Lim: Tell me, what is The Schokoladen about? You’ve turned your studio/gallery into a shop! Cornelia Erdmann: laiyanprojects, which I founded, is a platform for all sorts of creative things. My large studio space and mixed interests gave birth to a small scale residency—for awhile I have been inviting my artist friends to come and stay in my studio and to show their works. Every January in Fo Tan, artists welcome the public to their annual open studios. This event has a very large following. Last year, more than 10,000 people turned up over two weekends! So this time I invited Brendan, whom I met a few years back. We discovered we both shared the passion for cooking and sweets… Brendan Goh: And eating! C: (Laughs). I remember, we met again in late 2010 in Singapore when I was there for a public art project, The Marina Bay Light Festival, and he made some delectable chocolates for me. At that time, I was stressed out from preparing and setting up the installation, and the chocolates were just the thing I needed then. Flavoured with Earl Grey Tea, the chocolates had a subtle floral and citrusy aroma... H: That must have been absolutely delicious... C: Yes! That’s when we had this idea that we should merge our two passions—food and art—to create edible art works in chocolate! 5

H: …but what has food got to do with art? B: There is a renewal of interest in the processes of growing and making food, similar to the interest in the processes of art creation. Pollution and cases of food scandals are increasingly serious. And now, chefs are using technology to augment culinary techniques and introduce new dimensions into the pleasure of eating. For example, there is Ferran Adrià and his innovative restaurant El Bulli that were invited to be part of the 12th edition of Documenta, an important exhibition of contemporary art; Marije Vogelzang, the Dutch “Eating Designer” who opened her experimental restaurant called Proef, known for her emphasis on deconstructing the experience of eating and Martí Guixé and his series of industrial food… just to name a few. C: Art and food are both about inspiring people and setting them off to new or divergent

experiences—using different senses—but effectively with a similar aim. They are both about indulgence and satisfying needs. Food is a bit more obvious in that respect, we all need it every day to survive and therefore it is perhaps more mundane, as opposed to art which may be more distant. Making edible things artistic introduces to the necessary something else that satisfies the desire for the whimsical, impractical, unusual, sensual… B: You could say that it prevents the quotidian from being mundane; a sense of joie de vivre… C: Perhaps, and since almost everything we (as artists and designers) produce today is somehow prodigal and extravagant—as much as I try to avoid or reduce that—it is inevitable. But the bonus of using food as a medium is its ephemerality and sustainability, making it perfect for integrating artistic expression for all senses and at the same time with a good conscience, thus alleviating our guilt of doing something wasteful! B: For many of our visitors, art seems removed from everyday life. Though we may not be able to appreciate art everyday, we all still need to eat. By using food as material and art work, we are creating things that nourish our bodies as well as our minds. It’s about making art accessible through different methods of engaging our audience and getting them to think about things which they may take for granted. H: How does this fit into the artistic practices of both of you? C: I’m a visual artist who sometimes blurs the lines between art and design. I was trained in architecture and public art, and I specialise in public art pieces, in site-specific commissions or projects that interact with the audience. Apart from that, I am a passionate cook at home. I like to experiment with new flavours and ingredients, combining different tastes. I’m a ‘baroque 8

cookie’, as my husband says. So, in combining professional practice with private passion, The Schokoladen was a fusion of the two, a sort of installation and performance... B: Like Cornelia, I’m a visual artist and I was trained in sculpture, so using materials or objects and space is something that I have been doing for awhile, usually as installations. In fact, this show is my second work that uses food as a material. The first was an edible landscape that I made as part of an interactive dinner performance and installation while I was in Italy for an arts residency in 2009. That was something that got me started on food really, because the Italians take their food so seriously, and I realized that there were so many issues surrounding food and the way we eat it that it could be something we need to pay more attention to, especially nowadays. As a side note, I also run seed, my own studio and design consultancy that operates out of my (notebook) computer. H: What are some of the responses that you’ve had for this event? B: We had many many people coming in and taking photographs of everything… C: The shelves, the small pantry area, the utensils and equipment that we used to make the edible art works… and even the toilet! B: That was rather strange. For a moment I could imagine what it would be like to be famous and to be hounded by the paparazzi. (Laughs) There were a number of people who wanted to know if what we made was edible or not! I suppose, people weren’t expecting that they could consume art in this sense by eating it! C: Maybe that was because it is very seldom that there is an art work or installation with food that people could also eat. Normally, in this building and the surrounding ones, there are many food 11

manufacturers, from bread to roast meats, but food and art production haven’t mingled yet. Once it was understood that one could actually eat the artworks, then people started eating and everyone got really excited and enchanted by our beautiful and tasteful (in all senses) presentation. Since the visitors didn’t really expect to find edible delicacies among the art displays in the setting of industrial buildings, our chocolates appealed to everybody—young or old, from art professionals to curious visitors. All were eager to try something right away or collect them as a souvenir. B: We even had someone who bought the chocolates including the display board and the little hand-drawn signs we used as a set of installation work! C: (Laughs) Our caramelised kumquat lollies were also very popular. I guess they triggered childhood memories of eating candies on the street. That was what a lot of people did. They held the lolly up like a trophy and posed in front of my stainless steel works in the studio, photographing their own reflections. Many people commented on our flavour creations, that they were unexpected and surprising. I think one of the best descriptions of our curry truffles was, “It is like a journey that starts in the Swiss Alps and ends somewhere in India”. B: Oh yes, do you remember the girl who came just as we were about to close in the evening? She must have been about nine or ten… C: The one who gave us her secret recipe? B: Yes, isn’t it amazing how food really makes people feel at home? Sharing food is such a personal and intimate way of getting to know somebody better, so that they even share their secrets with you! In this case it was this little girl who wanted to share her own special way of making orange juice with spices… 12

C: It had a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon hadn’t it? And there was one other secret ingredient… H: Secret ingredient? B: We can’t say, since we did promise her to keep it a secret. But she did mention however, earnestly, to remember to remove the secret ingredient—a herb—before serving it to people! That’s one thing I can totally relate to: Most of the time I refrain from telling people what they are eating until they have eaten it, and only if they ask—because to do so would be a little like revealing the end of a story before someone has even gotten to the introduction! H: So, were there any secret ingredients that the both of you used in the dinner that you organized as part of the show? C: Yes, there was… B: Chocolate... C: Or cocoa. Because every dish that we made, contained chocolate in one form or another. We wanted to borrow from history and use chocolate in a familiar way, as a sweet and in an unfamiliar way, as a spice. That’s how we ended up with a chocolate risotto served with asparagus and a cocoa battered fish with vanilla foam! B: ...with a healthy dose of experimentation! Some of the dishes really came out in quite unexpected ways—strange, but tasty! H: What are your plans in the future for this project? B: We are hoping to bring it on a tour! C: And of course we are already thinking of what to do for Fotanian next year. This will be hard to top! 16

Hazel Lim is a visual artist with a Masters in Fine Arts from the Lasalle College of the Arts and a Bachelor degree in Sociology and Statistics from NUS. She frequently employs the medium of painting, photography and drawing to express her concerns about constructed histories and imaginary landscapes. Her current research Colour Indicted, aims to question narratives and representations and is articulated through text, paper folding and interactive workshops. Besides being an artist and art educator, she has experiences in other aspects of art such as gallery management and contributing to artistic publications. Hazel had taken part in group exhibitions showcased in Singapore, Netherlands, Ireland and Vietnam and participated in international artists exchange programs such as the ASEF Creative Camp in Paris, France, Documenta: International Workshop for Art Academies in Germany, and Connected:09 in Austria. Hazel is an Associate Artist with Substation where she held her solo exhibition, Secret Windows in 2004.  www.hazel-lim.co.cc  hazel-lim.tumblr.com

Cornelia Erdmann is a German-born visual artist with an MA in Architecture and an MFA in Public Art and New Artistic Strategies from BauhausUniversität Weimar, Germany. Since 2006 she lives and works in Hong Kong, specializing in public art and multi-media installations. Her public art works are site-specific and/or relate to site-specific issues. Cornelia’s main medium is light, which she combines with other materials and technologies to create playful installations that interact with the audience on various levels. Apart from being a practicing artist, she also works as a spatial designer, in graphic design and is very active in art curation. She blurs the boundaries 18

of art and design to surprise people. She has worked for public and private commissions, i.e. at the new Legislative Council Complex and Times Square Office Tower, both in Hong Kong, as well as a hotel in Suzhou, China. Her work is in public and private collections, and has been shown at international festivals and exhibitions, such as the recent Vivid Light Festival 2011 in Sydney or iLight Marina Bay 2010 Singapore. She has also exhibited in the Kunstraum Bethanien and Gallery Sleeping Dogs, both in Berlin, Germany, Gallery Threewalls in Chicago, USA, Fondazione Bevilacqua in Venice, Italy, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art in Toyota City, Japan, KunstFilm Biennale at Art Cologne in Germany, Blue Lotus Gallery in Hong Kong, and the Jendela Artspace at The Esplanade in Singapore. ď&#x20AC;˘ www.corneliaerdmann.de

Brendan Goh is a Singapore-born artist with a BA in Fine Arts (Sculpture) from the LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. He probes issues of domesticity, as it pertains to being and relating. His texts, sculptures and installations are clues to his habitual experimentation of and reflection on what makes lives significant and livable. Since graduating in 2007, Brendan has completed residencies at Studio Bibliotheque in Hongkong, OZU in Rieti, Italy, and Culturia in Berlin, Germany. His past projects include Ciborama at OZU in Italy, The Sustainable Shop at the Singapore Management University with Shirley Soh, the Purple Medicine Garden, with Shirley Soh and Martha Rosler for the Singapore Biennale 2011, and Candyplatz with Andrea Coyotzi Borja, for Random Access Memory at Mica Moca in Berlin. Brendan also lends his mind to a range of other imaginative endeavours such as curating, editorial work, and creative and art direction. ď&#x20AC;˘ www.seed.sg 19

zuckerwerk 2011 Chocolate, cream, cheese, sugar, salt, spirits, herbs, spices, tea, seeds, nuts and fruit, chopping boards Variable dimensions 22

Coffee & Cardamom Truffle with Pecans

Cheese in Dried Apricots dipped in White Chocolate and Chilli

Caramel Toffee Brittle with Almonds and Smoked Sea Salt

Chocolate Arancini with Cheese and Coriander

Almonds in Prunes dipped in Milk Chocolate

Kirsch-soaked Dates stuffed with Candied Walnuts and Sesame

Milk Chocolate Mini Lollies with Poppy Seeds

Earl Grey and Pink Pepper Truffles

White Chocolate Curry Truffles with Smoked Sea Salt, Cashews and Chilli

Brazil Nuts in Figs dipped in Milk Chocolate and Poppy Seeds

Caramel Kumquats with Smoked Sea Salt and Chilli

Coconut Candy with Lime and Black Pepper

fo tan factories 2011 Chocolate, rice crispies, cornflakes, almonds 40 cm x 80 cm x 14 cm Fotan is one of the few remaining industrial areas of Hong Kong, but is also known for its thriving art community that has taken over the industrial spaces as studios after industrial activities moved to mainland China. Some light manufacturing and productionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;often food, dim sum or baked goodsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are still carried out in the high-rise blocks. As one wanders through, odours of grease and metal are punctuated by scents of roast meat or freshly baked rolls, truly an olfactory combination that relates to the identity and character of Fotan. Fotan Factories is an installation that solidifies that essence in a sweet treat. All the industrial buildings are rebuilt in chocolate forms as a 3D scale model of the area. They are solid blocks as their original counterparts, but crunchy with a smooth taste of dark chocolate when eaten. Encouraged to purchase the factories one by oneâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;visitors turned into ephemeral property tycoons. Property speculation has become troublesome in Fotan, as increasingly, investors speculate with property in the name of profit while the art community struggles to sustain their lives as rent and property prices rocket. In the meantime, at least for a moment or two, these Fotan Factories sugar-coat the issue and allow a deferral of reality as they melt in our mouths. Opposite: Detail view Pg 36-39: Installation view. 35

taste mapping 2011 Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate with hazelnuts, chocolate with almonds, chocolate with strawberry yoghurt, white chocolate, chocolate with raisins, chocolate with cocoa nibs, chocolate with caramel crunch 160 cm x 120 cm One of the most commonly liked foods, chocolate is made from cocoa beans, grown mostly in the tropics, while much of the production takes place elsewhere. Hence, there exists an entire range of chocolate with various flavours and fillings, only limited by the imagination, to cater to the tastes of consumers across the world

Opposite: Wrappers of chocolates used. This page and next spread: Detail and installation view of Taste Mapping Pg 44-45: Viewers interacting with the installation

Most chocolate aficionados will swear by their favourite brand when asked which of them is the tastiest, but is there a difference between the products of one company or country to another? We broke up a collection of chocolate bars and assembled them into continents and landmasses, charting the countries of origin of different types of store-bought chocolate, creating an edible tasting board that visitors were invited to try. Stripped from their elaborate packaging, it became almost impossible to discern the different chocolates from each other. 41

everything with chocolate 2011 Mixed media Variable duration

Chocolate in its most familiar form is the chocolate barâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the sweet, milky confection of our childhoods. Cocoa, originally cultivated three millennia ago in Mexico and Central and South America, and consumed as a frothy, bitter drink with spices such as chilli or as savory dishes to worship gods. The beans were used as a form of currency. It was only from the 16th century onwards that it was discovered by Europeans and paired with sugar, milk and vanilla to become chocolate as we know it. With history as our muse, we imagined how chocolate could be used in different ways, from a pomelo salad to a chocolate risotto, on fish and in a mousse. Creating an experimental menu using chocolate as an ingredient for all the courses, we titillated the taste buds of our intrepid diners.

Menu ----Spicy Pomelo Salad ----Creamy Pumpkin Soup with White Chocolate Brittle ----Dark Chocolate and Chili Risotto ----Bocourti Fillets with Vanilla Sauce ----Apple Tart + Mousse au Chocolat with Cardamom and Coffee -----

spicy pomelo salad Serves 4 1 pomelo (peeled and pith discarded) bunch of salad greens handful of cashews and almonds (toasted and chopped) bunch of coriander (chopped) dressing 50 ml extra virgin olive oil 15 ml apple cider vinegar 10 g gula melaka or palm sugar 1 chilli, chopped half a garlic clove, minced dash of tabasco sauce 5g cocoa powder juice and zest of 1 lime salt + pepper Whisk all ingredients together and pour over salad greens, pomelo and coriander. Top with nuts and toss.

pumpkin soup with white chocolate brittle Serves 4 soup 1 kg pumpkin (peeled and diced) 3 small shallots (diced) 1 glove of garlic (minced) 250 ml of cream pinch of nutmeg (grated) 500 ml vegetable broth dash of olive oil salt + pepper Place a pot on medium heat, add olive oil and sweat shallots, then add garlic. When the garlic and onions are softened, add the pumpkin and stir fry a little. Then add the vegetable broth and cook the pumpkin until it is soft. Pour in the cream and blend until smooth. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with a piece of white chocolate brittle. white chocolate brittle white chocolate pumpkin seeds, roasted chunky salt pink pepper For the white chocolate brittle, temper some white chocolate and spread onto a silicone mat or baking sheet and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds, salt and pink pepper. Leave to cool.

dark chocolate and chilli risotto Serves 4: 1 large onion (finely diced) 1 garlic clove (diced or minced) 2 fresh red chillis (finely chopped) 250 g Arborio rice or Pearl Rice 40 g butter dash of olive oil vegetable broth 50-100 g of dark chocolate (about 70-80% cocoa, chopped) parmigiano-reggiano salt + pepper garnish 200 g of green baby asparagus dash of olive oil drizzle of agrodolce salt + pepper Make the agrodolce in advance by simmering 250ml of balsamic vinegar with 10gr sugar until reduced by half. Leave to cool. Bring the vegetable broth to a slow simmer. Place a pot on medium heat, add olive oil and the diced onions, sweat them until they are glazed. Add the garlic and the chopped chilli. Then add the rice and fry until the mixture is fragrant. Add the liquid to the rice and stir constantly until the liquid is gone. Repeat until the rice is cooked, usually 15-20 mins depending on the type of rice used. Check directions on the package. Remove the pan from the heat, and melt the butter and the chocolate into the risotto by 57

placing them on the top and covering with the lid for a minute. Then stir thoroughly until butter and chocolate are well mixed. Season with some salt and pepper if necessary. While the butter and chocolate are melting heat up a pan, add olive oil and fry the asparagus. Season salt and pepper. Close with lid for one or two minutes until the asparagus are done, but still al dente. To serve, fill the risotto in a cup and put it over on a flat plate, place the asparagus at the side and garnish with a drizzle of agrodolce. Sprinkle with cheese on top.

bocourti fillets with vanilla foam Serves 4 4 bocourti fillets dash of olive oil marinade 3 garlic cloves (finely sliced) a thumb-sized piece of ginger (finely sliced) lime juice (or lemon juice) salt and pepper coating 25 g cocoa powder 100 g flour dash of ground chilli salt + pepper garnish cherry tomatoes (halved) kumkuats (sliced) fresh basil leaves (chopped) Sprinkle salt and pepper on fish fillets into a ziplock bag or container and sprinkle the sliced garlic and ginger on top. Pour the lime juice over and seal the ziplock bag tightly, leaving the fish fillets for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator. Prepare the coating for the fish by mixing all the ingredients together. Take the fish out of the marinade and remove the garlic and ginger slices. Dab dry with a kitchen towel, then coat with flour mixture and fry in a pan with a little olive oil over high heat. While fish is cooking, sear tomatoes and slice the kumquats. When fish is nicely browned on one 59

side, flip it over and cook until browned on the other. When ready, serve with the vanilla foam, with the tomatoes, kumquats and chopped basil leaves on the side. vanilla foam 2 shallots (finely diced) dash of olive oil 800 ml vegetable stock 100 ml of Vermouth (Noilly Prat) or Dry Martini 200 ml cream 1 vanilla pod (scored lengthwise, seeds separated) handful of fresh thyme leaves lime juice (optional) 10 g of corn starch 45 ml of water Heat a pot to medium heat with oil and sweat the shallots. Add the Noilly Prat to deglaze and let it reduce for a while. Add the thyme and the vegetable stock and let it cook until it is reduced to about 200 ml. Stir in the vanilla seeds and the cream and heat until it is just simmering. Season with salt and pepper, add some lime juice if you like. If the sauce is not thick enough, mix the starch with the water and add it to the sauce, letting it simmer gently until the desired consistency is reached. Use a hand blender to smoothen the sauce.

apple tart + mousse au chocolat with cardamom and coffee Serves 12 (Ă&#x2DC; 28cm tart tin) apple tart crust 125 g of soft unsalted butter about 200 g of plain flour (enough to make a smooth dough) a pinch of salt 10 g sugar apple tart filling 2 large apples, peeled, cored and finely sliced juice and zest of 1 lemon 1 vanilla pod (scored lengthwise, seeds separated) 500 ml milk 100 g of sugar 30 g corn starch 5 g butter a pinch of salt apple tart topping a handful of flaked and toasted almonds 45 ml of apricot jam (warmed up) cinnamon, ground Preheat the oven to 180Â°C. Mix the prepared apple slices lemon juice and zest and put aside. Work the ingredients of the dough together until it is smooth. Butter the tart tin, roll out the dough thinly and spread it into the tin. Pierce the pastry with a fork a few times to prevent it from lifting off the pan during baking. Place the tin in the middle of the oven and bake for about 5-10 minutes until it is lightly baked. Take it out. 63

While the crust is baking prepare the pudding. In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat milk with vanilla pod and seeds until bubbles form at the edges. Remove the vanilla pod. In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Pour in hot milk, a little at a time, stirring to dissolve. Continue to cook and stir until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Do not boil. Remove from heat, stir in the butter. Pour the hot pudding into the pre-baked crust and arrange the apple slices on top. Sprinkle the tart with cinnamon and put it back into the oven for about another 25 minutes until the apples are cooked and soft. Warm up the jam in the microwave or in a ovenproof cup along with the tart. Toast the almonds. When the tart is baked, take it out of the oven, drizzle the tart with the apricot jam and sprinkle the almonds on top. Serve warm or cold. mousse au chocolat with cardamom and coffee 450 g dark chocolate 30 g butter 12 eggs (separated) large pinch of cardamom seeds, crushed 180 ml espresso large pinch of salt Melt chocolate and butter in a bain-marie together with the cardamom seeds and remove from heat when done. Fold the egg yolks into the liquid chocolate. Beat the egg whites with the salt until firm. Add first a little of the beaten egg whites to the chocolate mixture and then fold in the rest. Add the espresso. Put the mousse into the refrigerator to set for at least 4 hours. Dust with cocoa powder before serving. 64

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are neither cooks nor chefs, but just passionate about food and eating.â&#x20AC;?