Hungry diary

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Scarcity

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Hunger

unexpected next meal Feed Me Next Meal is an intervention in the street, which attempts to trigger the awareness of hungry through a physical performance of waiting. The daily meals of mine are totally relied on other’s sharing. The only two things that I can do are waiting and trying to attract more people’s attention and sympathy. This uncertainty of next meal brings on the profound hungry feeling from the performer’s side. Also, it’s expected to stimulate viewers to rethink the mass-consumption of quick food, and further to reevaluate the food meaning for them.

rule of feed me next meal

/ I cannot bring or buy any food / I can only eat food given or shared by others / I can only bring water / I need to sit on the chair during lunch and dinnertime (1200-1400 or 1700-1900)

day one m c d o n a l d ’s

2013/06/03 17:00-19:00

I chose front door as my spot for waiting

Today I pick McDonald’s to do my

out, but no one stopped and shared

intervention. I was inspired by this kind of fast-food company, which is the symbol of convenience. Within 10

minutes, you can order, pick, and put the meal into your mouth.

The step of this society is a bit too fast.

People even don’t stop when they are

next meal. People kept walking in and

their meal to me. Lots of people stared at my poster, and read the slogan

loudly. However, they still don’t slow

down their feet. I was a bit curious, what

are they rushing for? Is there anything so important, just right after they ordered the five-minute-cooked meat?

eating. They eat when they’re riding

Homeless man has better credit than

and smoking. They eat when they’re

body. In these 2 hours, I didn’t get

bicycles. They eat when they’re talking carrying bag and shouting to their children.

me, because he stopped them by his anything.

What’s hungry actually? When I cannot approach McDonald, this convenience just behind me, when I must to watch people’s non-stop steps with a piece

of French fries on their teeth, or when I have to wait for the hopeless meal, maybe it is hungry.

People even don’t stop their steps when they’re eating. They eat when they’re riding bicycles. They eat when they’re talking and smoking. They eat when they’re carrying bag and shouting their children.

Insecurity Glasses

With this wooden glasses, I can only see the view of my table. I cannot see the coming people, the curious onlookers or potential donaters.

day two tuesday market

2013/06/04 12:00-13:00

People still don’t stop for me in this nice

Today is the market day in city center.

the eye contact with me. Within one

Weather is sunny. Lots of people hang

around during the lunchtime. I think it’s a good day for my next meal.

After I put my feeding table next to a roast chicken shop, I cannot stop

weather. They quickly order it, and avoid minute, vendor takes one of chickens on that long row. Another minute later, the half-chicken is already on the

costumer’s hand. Then they keep walking to the next destination.

looking at it. There is a long row of

The weather becomes really hot, but my

spinning and heating.

on stopping hungry feeling. I cannot

chickens on the machine, which keeps

Unexpected, my feeding table create

an isolated space for me in the crowd.

I have a better concentration and can focus on details that I never noticed

before. I see an amazing regularity on

energy is totally spent on my stomach, ignore the smell from chickens, and cannot stop looking at the chicken

juice when they are falling down to the

ground. Everything now is slowing down, just like a stop motion in my eyes.

those roast chickens. They look almost

I can clearly recognize the differences of

spinning speed. These vendors have

once, I really want to close my nose…

the same, with the same size, color, and a standardized procedure to clean,

cook, and sauce. People are crazy for

it, although it’s a bit changeless. But this changeless smell and taste are what’s we call yummy.

smells from the food in this market. For if I really have this extra skin to close

it, because I cannot afford all of these smells anymore.

I cannot ignore the smell from chickens, and cannot stop looking at the chicken juice when they are falling down to the ground.

Everything now is slowing down, just like a stop motion in my eyes.

2013/06/04 13:00-14:00

After half of hour, my eyes are

The next hour, I move to a fish shop, and

food. I am focusing on those fingers,

sit next to the tables for customers. This time, I still cannot move my eyes from fried fishes, although I am allergic to seafood.

Other customers from the next table

start to notice my eyes. They stare at my poster first, and read it slightly. Then,

they turn around, face on the other side, and continue their meals.

Different from the roast chicken vendor,

targeting everyone’s hands instead of which is constantly moving under the

sky of this market. I clearly watch every motion of fingers. They are the main

characters in this food theater. Those fingers are dancing between foods.

They move from the vendors to get

steaming fishes in a white plastic plate,

move with a fork to pick it up, and move together into mouths. I keep watching

this show from fingers, forks, and fishes, until the time is finished.

I can be more concentrated now. I am in the shadow, and don’t need to use any energy to fight with my body temperature.

I am focusing on those fingers, which is constantly moving under the sky of this market. Those fingers are dancing between foods. They are the main characters in this food theater.

day three indonesia restaurant

2013/06/05 12:00-14:00

The customers from next table saw my

I go to an Indonesia restaurant with

and start their move. They give me one

classmates. I bring my table, sit next to them, and watch them while they are

friends’ sharing. They stop their looking bite of their bagel on the fork.

eating.

This time, the taste of bacon occupies

They are nice, and don’t want to see me

cheers up my mood. Just one bite of it, I

stay in hungry for three days. They pick

up the food they don’t like to eat in their meal to me. It’s cucumber. It’s my first

my mouth. This small piece of bagel

feel powerful and happy. I never said so many times thank you to anyone before.

reward from this intervention. I am really

Today, I really re-experience about food.

But this moment, I feel anything edible is

and appreciate it while eating. It’s more

exciting. Normally I don’t like cucumber. fine for me.

I swear that I really taste some different from this cucumber. It’s not a normal

cucumber anymore in my mind and on

my tongue. I can clearly remember the cold feeling when it touches my skin in

my mouth, and feel its juice splash out.

Probably, my feeling of taste explodes in this hungry time. I don’t dare to say

I taste the intrinsic quality of food, but I

taste something that I always neglected before and really appreciate it.

I start to look and feel it in different way, like every chewing is a whole new

experience. I want to taste the different layers or levels when they are in my

mouth, in my throat, and in my stomach, and feel the effect they give to us.

I can clearly remember the cold feeling when it touches my skin in my mouth, and feel its juice splash out.

Probably, my feeling of taste explodes in this hungry time.

I don’t dare to say I taste the intrinsic quality of food, but I taste something that I always neglected before and really appreciate it.

day four burger shop

2013/06/06 12:00-14:00

We talk for a while. He said he is work-

Day four, I go to a burger shop in city

corner. He is really familiar with food and

center, and ask the owner if I can sit inside the shop to do my begging.

This time, I create my new tool to attract more attention…and food. I play a

sound recording from my phone when

ing in Panos, a sandwiches shop in next

understands it’s the most important thing in our day and our life. When he heard this grumbling sound, it wakes up his

“working spirit”. He doesn’t want to see this torture to me.

I am waiting for next meal. It’s a sound

When he goes to the counter and order

“guuuuuuuguuuuuuuguuuuuuu”, if I try

ing time. I feel that this is a frozen time,

of “grumbling stomach”. It feels like

to write in my diary. I want to tell other customers what is my feeling while waiting.

I don’t know if it’s a reason to arise their sympathy, to remind them this kind of terrible feeling, or make them feel an-

noying. One guy buys a plate of French fries, comes to my table, and eats together with me.

French fries, I cannot wait for this cookand this time goes super slow. This is

the worst moment for me. Everything becomes slow, when the owner puts fries into the pan, when he waits next to the

counter, when he takes them out, when

he puts them into a plastic box, or when he walks toward that guy. “Waiting food becomes edible” is the deepest hungry feeling for me today.

“Waiting food becomes edible� is the deepest hungry feeling for me today.

Grumble Speaker

This speaker keeps repeating the stomach grumbling sound, making other customers experice the same feeling with me.

day five fries shop

2013/06/07 12:00-14:00

This poster and topic create more

Today, I stay in front of a French fries

more with friends, and stay in front of me

shop. Probably I cannot forget the

feeling from yesterday. I change the

topic in my poster to “hungry before?� I

hope others will be triggered by this and come to talk with me.

I choose a spot in front of a food

vending machine, which is typically

Dutch. It sells some prepared food, such as hotdogs and burgers. I want to wait

for my unexpected next meal, just right in front of this immediate-food-selling system.

resonance from people. They discuss

much longer. Around 30 minutes, an old lady comes to me and talks about her

experience before. She was poor in her

young age. She cannot spend too much on groceries. It was a terrible feeling

that she didn’t know if there was food for tomorrow or next week. She had to stop lunch or dinner in some days, in order to make sure about food in the future.

She cannot ever forget this scared and insecure experience.

She shares some French fries and put it in my bowl. Then she even wants to

feed me by herself. We have a nice talk with each other. When she left, some

classmate sees me, and they share their fruit milk shake.

The lady’s story is still staying in my mind. Do we still have the feeling of

waiting for next meal? Even when we are doing diet, we are still sure about where and when can we approach food. Do

we still feel that uncertainty of food? The mental feeling that you cannot predict

the next meal is much profounder than the physical hungry feeling.

day six portable

2013/06/11 12:00-14:00

Portable T-Shirt

When the day is closer to my

more people what’s I am doing while I

presentation, I have more stuff to do.

Therefore, I print out the description of

“waiting for next meal” and stick on my back. I can do my things at the same

time instead of keep sitting on the chair

in a same place. Moreover, I can attract more attentions while moving.

The effect from this T-shirt works quite

well. People can understand what I am doing, and don’t feel strange to look at

my face or my chair. I wear this from the workshop in school to the print shop in TUE.

This T-shirt helps me to easily inform

am working on other stuffs, and reduce the awkard feeling.

different topics With these different topics for

1. Share your meal

join this sharing of next meal.

3. Really need so much?

discussion, They trigger more poeple to

2. How’s the taste of your meal?

4. Hungry Before?

5. What’s kind of food you don’t like?

all installations

feed me

next meal

wei lun wang 2013 mentors rianne makkink herman verkerk