Yinling Hsu         許尹齡



Gourmet Drama    料理劇 2012



“Everything you eat means something.”

The story began with an incident. It was about a body found in a house. Not a single grain of rice was found in the deceased’s stomach; and no signs of struggle of any kind were discovered as well. The ambience of the room was more or less delightful with a slight hint of decay. Among the few things she left behind was a notebook filled with recipes she had recorded as well as all the food she had eaten in her life and the memories related to those dishes. From the self-explanatory flounder, to the cup cakes that thawed a tough front, to the worry-resolving delicacy that was the sizzling teppanyaki, to the reliable sets of steaks enjoyed in silence, through an intricate analysis of the tongue, these daily dishes seemed to epitomize some bewildering social phenomenon, creating a sense of hunger, fear, and happiness. On the last page of the notebook, the entry explained that she chose to refrain from eating anything until her death. It was neither because of a religious fasting nor an extreme, self-inflicted behavior; it was because she felt certain and decided that the amazing nutrients of the food were no longer needed. 

This work centers on “food” and develops a series of observations on our society. It focuses on the relationships between individuals as well as those of between individuals and the society. It further analyzes them in terms of the theme, “food,” gathers and transforms them into plots of gourmet dramas. “Everything you eat means something.” Human being’s diet is an accumulation of vast experiences, ranging from the mere need to stop hunger to a manifestation of pursuing a better life, from the exquisite art of dining to the down-to-earth clangor of knives and spatulas, and making choices to get different daily meat, vegetable and fruit. These images, whether about people or food, hopefully convey a message—because human being could not survive without food, we might as well sincerely face what is inevitably happening around us. At such a moment, as if revealing human being’s every desire, our diet honestly represents the current state of our society. 

Another reason that this work centers on food is because of the associations that have been imposed on the images of food. In addition to being interpreted physically, food has always been associated with the senses of taste and smell. As time changes, people have formed strong attachments to certain food. Besides the fact that some food requires specific culinary techniques, dining has become a vital means to bond with people because it is rather simple to interpret the world through food. It could be easily associated with various characters, classes, and circumstances. Nevertheless, it is also quite often that once a type of food is thus associated, it becomes more complicated like the human heart. It might hide behind a certain degree of ambiguity, or it might not live up to its name. It could go bad easily, or it could be pickled for longer preservation. Sometimes, people even prefer the fermented. 

It is exactly among these familiar, unsurprising incidents and accidents, the most common yet profound emotions are camouflaged and observed. I have always been hoping to express this kind of established connection through paintings because these invisible scenes are usually the most truthful concealed in the reality.  
當時無意間看到的一則發生在台灣的社會新聞,一則短暫且無後續的社會新聞,那個事件是關於在屋內發現的一具女屍,警方發現她的時候她胃裡連一粒米都沒有,那則新聞就到此結束,然後一條生命也這樣悄悄消失了。每天在社會新聞裡來來去去的生命很多,但那天不知為何她雖然消失了卻同時踏踏實實地的走進了我腦海裡,我開始想人們會猜測她是被虐待,但為什麼人類會虐待另一個人類呢?人們也會猜測是食物的缺乏,那又是怎麼樣的社會環境至今仍無法解決這樣的糧食問題呢?2012的今天世界各地仍然有人會餓死,人跟人之間仍然有互相殘殺的可能性,雖然隨著社會發展我們討論的議題也會理所當然地不同,這是一種世界秩序,每種類型的問題都會存在於各個地方,但就當人們在討論環境、經濟和權力的時後習慣性的去幻想更高遠的層次卻乎略了生而為人這件事,總有一天我們會是因為對人性的匱乏而餓死的。

這樣的狀態就像飲食,就像我在論述中寫道的。「每放進嘴裡的任何一樣東西都有意義」—飲食這件事從為了存活、填飽飢餓到追求美好生活的想像,都背負著人類所積累的龐大經驗,回歸到生而為人這件事,既然人類不進食便無法生活下去,那不如就這麼一次認真地面對發生在我們周遭不得不去在乎的事。

所以我決定借用這個社會事件主角的人生去說一段關於人跟這個社會環境的故事,於是我把她的角色設定為一位美食家,但在她死的時候卻發現她胃裡連一粒米都沒有,屋內的擺設暗示了她的身份以及一本在她身旁的手札,這本手札紀錄了她一生中吃下的食物以及關於食物的記憶,那是一道道經由舌頭進行精密分析的日常料理 ,不斷創造飢餓感、恐懼和幸福,彷彿述說著一個個令人匪夷所思的人類行為與社會現象。手札最後一頁寫下的是她選擇了再也不吃下任何的東西直至死亡,不是為了任何自殘的偏激行為,而是心裡十分篤定且真實地離開了那些食物所提供的奇異養分而已。對一個美食家來說,離開她這一生中最愛的東西,那是一種不可能的決定,這種所謂的不可能的決定,雖然很負面但卻又很老實地反映了現實。
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