2012 to 2021 is a decade marked by events and factors that led people to reflect on the predominant paradigms and pre-existing values. The imminent impact of the climate change and increasing wealth disparities triggered us to reevaluate the free-market capitalism and the consumer culture. Global movement of Black Lives Matter and #MeToo confronted the system and the culture that have permitted racial and gender-based violence and inequality. We saw the polarization of the society during this transitional phase, but at the same time, witnessed an emphasis on collaborations and diversity more than ever. It was during this last 10 years, Villa Kujoyama established its duo program to support research carried out between a French creator and a Japanese creator.

To represent such period, I propose to share the project “L’Ombre de la nourriture / Dark Side of Food” by Felipe Ribon and Ryoko Sekiguchi, the laureates of the Villa Kujoyama duo program in the year 2016. Ribon is an industrial designer and Sekiguchi is a writer, and together they made a moral and philosophical inquiry through research about food and practices around food in Japan. Their differences in professional disciplines as well as the cultural backgrounds implicated their research in unique ways and provided them with a rich layer of discoveries.

They approach the subject of food with an awareness that we are at a time of transition where we may soon not have access to certain products, certain artisanal methods, or know-how. On the other hand, the traces of their research and creative work in and outside of Villa Kujoyama residency also show their convictions that there are yet more truths to be revealed about food that can animate and enrich our lives in renewed ways.

The journey that Ribon and Sekiguchi took together during their residency is presented by the photographic images on the four walls in the exhibition space. In the center of the room, the result of this journey is presented in the form of the portraits of the food with contextual titles.

The photographic images by Ribon render a feeling as if the food has spirits that we did not recognize before – some of them appearing like ghostly apparitions in the darkness. On the other hand, the words by Sekiguchi trigger us to subvert the pre-conceived images and narratives of the food that had been planted in our minds. Collectively, they reveal a new “face” of food.

Their gaze was sometimes that of a sociologist, sometimes that of an ethnologist or even an archaeologist. However what Ribon and Sekiguchi produced and present here is not an academic archive of their collected intelligence on the subject matter, nor a proposition of a singular political view. What they created here is a space of contemplation and self-reflection for us.

Text: Marina Amada