Art against Food Waste
FOOD WASTE For their diploma thesis at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the two art graduates Valentin Beck and Adrian Rast collected kilograms of discarded food and preserved it in 2,000 preserving jars. How do we want to live? Valentin Beck (Wettingen) and Adrian Rast (St. Gallen) addressed this question in their work "Ein-Mach-Ende", with which [...]
How do we want to live? Valentin Beck (Wettingen) and Adrian Rast (St. Gallen) addressed this question in their work "Ein-Mach-Ende", with which they completed their Bachelor's degree in Art & Communication at the Lucerne School of Art & Design this summer. Their response was an expansive Gesamtkunstwerk: for months, the two collected expired but still edible food from supermarket containers and boiled it down using traditional preservation methods. Around 2,000 jars - including fennel chutney, caramel marronis, prickly pear jelly and much more - were stacked in a room made of disposable pallets and distributed to the public at the diploma exhibition. In return, visitors were invited to discuss the topic of food waste with the two initiators.The work of Valentin Beck and Adrian Rast convinced the jury of the BEWE Foundation. The foundation, founded by art collectors Elisabeth and Bruno Weiss, is dedicated to promoting contemporary art. It awards an annual prize for an outstanding final project from a selected Swiss art academy. Tony Wuehtrich, foundation board member and gallery owner says, "We are impressed by how the two young artists combine installation and performance, consumer criticism and traditional craftsmanship, sensuality and discussion of values." The award allows this year's winners to show their work at the "Kunst 14 Zürich" fair at a BEWE Foundation booth. Valentin Beck and Adrian Rast have collected and preserved additional food from waste, but also from nature, especially for the fair in Zurich. Visitors can buy the preserving jars on site and are invited to discuss with the two artists. "We are looking forward to showing our work at the art fair and hope that it will open up exciting conversations," says Adrian Rast. And Valentin Beck adds: "It will be highly interesting and we are already very curious to see whether or how the acquisition of our art by the public will result in a negotiation about values." "Kunst 14 Zürich" will take place from October 30 to November 2 at ABB Hall 550, Ricarda-Huch-Strasse, in Zurich-Oerlikon.
