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Scarcity
Of
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