New work by Antonio Filipo, Leilani Kake, Sean Kerrigan, Mele Penitani, Genevieve Pini and Siliga David Setoga at Fresh Gallery Otara | November 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

Food Glorious Food

mEAT, grEAT and EAT.

LOLLY SCRAMBLE: Mix half a kg of assorted sweets (random) to a glass and a half of full cream New Zealand milk in a saucepan , bring to a boil let the flavours infuse, influence, interwine, interplay with each other before allowing it to settle. Serve warm with your favourite hot beverage and a good conversation.

Meat: Beef to be precise, by-product- MILK
Lollies: Sweet confectionery made from sugar, flavouring and colouring, healthier alternative to sugar-HONEY.
Milk and Honey isn't this what we came for?

Thoughts on artpiece: Homage to Salt and Tomato Sauce. What's an Island Table without Skellerup Table Salt and Watties Tomato Sauce moreso fish (taken from the Pacific Seas by Asian fishing trallers return in cans smothered in Tomato Sauce). Fish and chips a Kiwi institution salted and drenched in tomato sauce. Oregano, mixed herbs, chives, parsley, garlic nah bro Island seasoning consists of one ingredient SALT 'see how it runs' through everything we make. Can't cook without it, so small yet has the power to influence any dish, also becomes something which we cannot do without. First sign of heart disease first on the casualty list SALT (though its' snuck in at every chance without the boss looking). Salt has become a pillar of our dining and cooking community so much so that without it our Island meals would become bland and un-islandised. A metaphor for our culture where the ruling class small yet holds the balance of power to influence. Our Samoaness is the salt which flavours all that we do and defines us as a Samoan dish or not. We have become dependant on the definition that it does influence all that we do. Afraid of being outcast, ostricised and being labelled not-Samoan we fall in line.

I am sufferring from cultural heart disease and I know exactly what I have to cut down, it doesn't mean I will be cutting off completely that which adds flavour to my dish but rather be selective to what dish I do add it to. It wont be the only seasoning in my cupboard but rather one of many. After all our parents brought us here to taste life the problem was that they put salt on everything.

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