Food Studies Matter, Meaning, Movement Creative Collaborative Eating Performances, Annika Walsh

CREATIVE COLLABORATIVE EATING PERFORMANCES ANNIKA WALSH CHINESE CROQUEMBOUCHE Annika Walsh is a artist who was born in , China and adopted at 11 months of age by in Canada . She works with a variety of ingredients , materials , and collaborators to form her conceptual pieces . Her practice exploration identity to participatory food performances , and everything in between . Striving to blur the lines and push the boundaries , Annika makes a habit of ing many disciplines , including sculptural installation , mance , and media . 236 COLLABORATIVE EATING PERFORMANCES

CHINESE CROQUEMBOUCHE ( 2021 ) This interactive sculpture puts a savoury twist on a classic french dessert . A croquembouche is a pastry cream stuffed choux pastry tower that is stuck together with sweet caramel . My version has a savoury chinese bean sprout and cabbage filling . For the caramel aspect , I created a concentrate of soy sauce , rice vinegar , mushroom oyster sauce , garlic and ginger . I took that concentrate and mixed a bit of it into simmering maple syrup . I let this concoction bubble down into a hard ball caramel . With all of the new elements , I constructed the tower the day of reviewing . This piece requires activation and destruction in order for it to be completed . The rest of the art making happens through the deliberate action of the participants . 74 my Figure Chinese Croquembouche ANNIKA WALSH 237

Figure Chinese Croquembouche , after the eating 233 COLLABORATIVE EATING PERFORMANCES Figure Chinese Croquembouche , completed . ANNIKA WALSH 239 ( 2021 ) I call this piece a performance because the focus is not about an art object . While this experience did involve objects ( some crafted specifically for this piece ) it is more about the notion of congregating and eating together . All of the elements were placed close to the ground , encouraging the participants to shift their attention down towards the floor . Things were placed in a ear fashion , with three distinct sections . The first was a bowl and spoon stand the stand was made for this piece . The second station had a large pot containing congee ( a rice porridge ) This batch only had jasmine rice cooked down with water and salt . This base suggested a blank canvas in which participants could add their own preferences , putting more of themselves into the piece that was initially presented to them . Surrounding the pot was a handmade lazy susan that smoothly revolved around the pot . It held different toppings tea eggs , spicy peanuts , green onions , oyster mushrooms , a Szechuan kelp mixture , and more . The last part of the installation was a lazy susan that held sauces and seasoning such as soy sauce , sesame oil , black vinegar , kosher salt and more . The stations were placed in the middle of my studio surrounding the food were pillows , and exercise mats . During this experience , everyone chatted while creating their bowls , and then went to sit down and eat . 240 COLLABORATIVE EATING PERFORMANCES

the set up participants gathering for preparing their bowls warmth ANNIKA WALSH 241