Gisela McDaniel
Speaking Seeds, 2020
Oil on canvas, found object, corn and seed, sound on usb
101.6 x 91.4 x 14 cm
40 x 36 x 5 1/2 in
40 x 36 x 5 1/2 in
Copyright The Artist
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'The appropriation of indigneous food as a part of recent “health trends” by settler-colonialists has led to indigenous communities going hungry as prices for food they’ve raised for millennia is...
"The appropriation of indigneous food as a part of recent “health trends” by settler-colonialists has led to indigenous communities going hungry as prices for food they’ve raised for millennia is suddenly out of reach. Kristen is a Tlingit Chef who specialises in and grows indigenous food. As an advocate for food sovereignty, she honours the connection between food and the spiritual/physical health of indigenous peoples. According to indigenous cosmology, communication occurs between seeds planted and the land that receives and nurtures it. The land literally recognises the seeds: it knows them. The water, too, like the land, has memory. This knowledge - this knowing - and remembering is key to understanding the place that food as a product of these relationships holds in indigenous culture. Growing up in poverty, raised by a single mother, Kirsten honours the sacrifices and the knowledge her mother passed on to her. From childhood forward, her mother noted the importance of plants and the integral relationship between seeds, the food that grows from it, and the land that sustains it. Kirsten shared cherished memories of eating wild berries and tending to the garden, a duty given to her by grandmother. Tlingit, who are known as 'people of the tides', view salmon as precious. It is prepared for special meals such as birthdays and holidays and is wrapped in tin foil then opened like a present. The sacredness of smoke; Kirsten built a smoker in her backyard and incorporates it into her practice as an indigenous Chef and advocate. We talked about how food is often viewed through a white, settler-colonialist lens. From self-proclaimed 'foodies' and professional food critics to discourses that fetishise the way a meal is 'plated'... food considered sacred to indigenous peoples is transformed into a commodity, a symbol of sophistication. Kristin’s decolonizing practice rejects these views and reclaims the seeds, the water, the land as part of a sacred heritage." - Gisela McDaniel, 2020