TO EAT OR TO BE EATEN
A guide to cannibalism
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Part of the 4 years semi-permanent exhibition "Antwerp á la carte".
(2016-2020)
A guide to cannibalism
For his thesis project Antonio Cascos Chamizo address global issues such as lack of resources, over population, issues around consumerism with a fictional and controversial solution.
The attempt of Antonio Cascos Chamizo’s project To eat or to be eaten – A guide to cannibalism – conceived for his master at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts – is to create a circumstance that encourage us to transcend our own perspective given by our own socio-cultural frame.
The task of the scenario or design construct is to become a conduit for this experience. It is presented to the user as a dilemma, making use of humour and irony, avoiding being moralistic or didactic, celebrating unreality, exposing assumptions, provoking and sparking debate.
Design is often assumed to be only related to aesthetics and functionality. This limits and prevents us from fully engaging with all the design layers. The goal of Antonio Cascos Chamizo’s work is to describe, explore and address a problem rather than solving it, to bring concepts and awareness, to ask the right questions. Because it is not always about giving the right answers, but rather a matter of the right question being asked.
While looking for a situational frame that could work as platform to stimulate to transcend the structure of your behavioural cultural system, it seemed that treating a food taboo like cannibalism would not only fulfil this purpose but could as well test the bounds of cultural relativism as it challenges the viewer to define what is or is not beyond the pale of acceptable human behaviour, opening debates for what we consider or can consider ethical.
The great answer that this controversial topic generate in us, due to his taboo and abominable status in our society, generate dark, extreme and more complex emotions that provoke unpredictable outcomes that can question the limited range of emotional and psychological experiences. This makes it the perfect theme to engage most of the public and avoid a indifference situation that most likely other themes being more moralistic or didactic could generate.
The outcome of the project is a guide to cannibalism, To eat or to be eaten – A guide to cannibalism, is the what-if question, the construct or the fictional scenario, which start with asemblage of data, info and facts that justify cannibalism ethically and show its potential to be the answer of some global issues as overpopulation and lack of resources. It follows chopping charts, recipes, wine recommendations and conclude with The hairy bowls, 4 vessel cover with a layer of skin and real human hair that work as the merchandising of the guide.
10 June 2015, text published by
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