food glorious food...

an update from bundanon.

Food is something I'm very passionate about. Vegan cooking and talking about food ethics is a huge part of my existence. So the idea that was thrown around yesterday about a song cycle focusing on the narrative about the last meal of someone who is about to die (in response to "the last moments of life") has been haunting me...

In conjunction with this idea, I've been thinking about how we could present the song cycle + images (our major group project) in a more cohesive way than a conventional concert setting with screen back drop, or a concept album with accompanying cover art. One idea I've had is a "dinner party installation". The installation would be the creation of a dining room, which would stand alone as an exhibition. The room could reflect the life of our protagonist (eg. through the selection of books on the bookshelf, type of decor, meal choice) as well as being a space to present some of our Bundanon work - there's the potential for a lot of symbolism and layers, which is something we've all been drawn to in the last week...

At various times throughout the exhibition viewers could participate in a "meal sitting". The "meal sitting" would be the presentation of the song cycle, which would occur concurrently with the serving of a four course meal which we've cooked ourselves: the last meal of our character (the singer) is actually shared with dinner guests (the audience, who become performers in the installation)... The meal courses could define the structure of the song cycle and perhaps we could explore different narrative techniuqes so that the drama unfolds in a way that the viewers don't realise this is the last meal until desert... We've been watching a few different films which play with manipulating the psychology of the viewer and exploring with non-linear narrative and these ideas seem to be influencing a lot of my ideas...

Aside from the obvious biblical connotations (which Boyd himself has explored throughout his works), there are also many connections with various films and plays (eg. Chocolat, The Last Supper, Delicatessen). And there is an interesting irony in the fact that food is usually associated with human connection and building community, but in this context it highlights separation and loss.

I think it's a fun idea to at least explore and it would be interesting to set ourselves some environmentally challenges when creating the room: eg. all the furniture might be hard rubbish; food might be vegan...