The Dinner
Are you interested in having a dinner experience that is out of the ordinary, to try different vegetables and flavours? In Knots, Weeds and Roots we celebrate the invasive exotic in all its tastes, smells and characteristics. Through 7 courses and delicious food, you will learn about migration, adaptation, coexistence and encounters of people and plants. Inspired by their individual experiences with migration, the artist-chefs use plants that have a similar history to their own.
During the dinner, you will be guided through the Mediamatic building, along the life cycle of the Japanese knotweed. From the roots to the flower and back again. A process that starts over and over again, just like most things in life. Knots, Weeds and Roots is a participatory dinner. Play, Touch, Peel, Rub Japanese Knotweed on your skin and discover the plant's healing properties.
Each passage represents a different stage in the life cycle of Japanese Knotweed and explores new relationships with other plant species. Ultimately, they outline a hopeful future where different species and humans can live together harmoniously. What lessons can we learn from plants? To what extent are our problems similar?
The Artists
The Artists met last year during our Japanese Knotweed Festival, and worked together before in producing the successful Freedom Meal at Mediamatic. They are a dynamic trio for which creation comes intuitively whenever they are together.
Alaa Abu Asad does an ongoing research on unwanted species, mainly known as invasive species. His research traces the violent, xenophobic speech used to describe the Japanese knotweed and its parallel sister-plants. A language often used to describe human migrants—a language that reveals the current human condition. Alaa's work imagines alternative ways of living with 'unwanted' species by raising questions about (mass) production ethics and (exploitative) forms of economy.
Uno Fujisawa, is not only an artist but also a chef. Her artistic endeavours are rooted in a profound exploration of the seemingly simple act of eating, a ritual that is universally repeated every day. Fujisawa is also interested in themes and activities related to soil, agriculture, food production, the tools we use in our daily life, and consumption cycles. In her work there is an intent on bringing nature, food, design and art into a whole, researching in what ways the ordinary can become extraordinary.
Aslı Hatipoğlu is a textile culinary artist who's interdisciplinary social practice focuses on curating participatory dinners and installations that shed light on how culinary history and agricultural politics are changing our relationship to food. From working with micro-scale bacteria and yeasts to insects such as the domesticated silkworm, Hatipoğlu critically investigates ways of relating to our environment and ourselves. She researches production supply chains through performative acts to shed light to how humans influence other living organisms.
Neo Futurist Dinners
Neo Futurist Dinners are experimental dinners where Mediamatic invites chefs and artists from all over the world to develop a special experience, addressing both the sensory and tactile qualities of food. What role does food play in our current society, what stories can be told with food? Through these dinners, we explore the way food, art, science and politics are intertwined.
Information
Neo Futurist Dinner 17: Knots, Weeds and Roots
Wednesday 8th May – Sunday 19th May
First round:
Doors open: 17:15
Start diner: 17:30
Second round:
Doors open: 19:45
Start diner: 20:00
This is a timed event, it is important to be on time to have the best experience.
Tickets
Full Price Food: €66,-
Artist/Student/Stadspas discount*: €46,50
Alcoholic drink pairing: €30,-
Low-Alcoholic drink pairing: €25,-
If you don’t choose to get a drink pairing, there will be tap water. It will be possible to buy a drink pairing on site in an increased price.
Please read our ticket terms and conditions before booking.
Practicalities
All Neo Futurist Dinners are vegan. If you have questions or want to inform us about allergies, send an email to neofuturistdinner@mediamatic.nl.
*We offer a discount to students and artists. To qualify, we may ask you to show us your kvk nr/portfolio or student card at the door.
