“Pho-give. Pho-get.”
This past month, Applied Mechanics created some interesting experiments around food. We were gearing up for Scratch Night at FringeArts last night, which was really fun and energizing.
We brought in family recipes, and studied strange cookbooks. We shared feelings and histories around the recipes. Thomas danced a reindeer stew. Stephanie pretended to chop her thighs like garlic cloves. Bi discussed French colonialism as manifest in Vietnamese cooking.
“Pho-get. Pho-ever.”
These experiments are getting our minds going about how history is encoded in the meals we eat, the ingredients we use, the cooking methods we inherit (or fail to inherit) from our elders. How different cultures intermingle in a mixing bowl, how diaspora, exile, imperialism can all be manifest in a simple recipe. We were joined by Emily Schuman, Eliana Fabiyi, Bi Jean Ngo, Stephanie Walters and Brett Robinson. We are excited to see where these experiments lead, and thrilled to be in the room with new collaborators.
