Lowered Square

Lowered Square

75 x 45 x 3 cm, © 2017, not for sale
Two-dimensional | Painting | Mixed Media | On canvas

'Lowered square'
Maize and cassava flour, wood glue and varnish spray-paint.
44,5cm x 75cm x 3cm

 

Color ‘white crème’ Cassava is in this series because it represents one of the "original" staple foods (besides sorghum, ) in Malawi (and Zambia) before maize took over (as it took over diversity, the staple food market and “food” politics). Cassava represents tradition and maybe a look back to the older and maybe "better" days for some (farmers and poor people depending highly on this “easy accessible” staple food which better suited the local conditions and environment).

Color ‘Natural white’ maize flour is used here as pointing out its present day’s main staple food source after it took over this staple food market, it minimalized diversity (representing monoculture) and it stands for its political use (it keeps the poor farmers poor) in Africa (Zambia and Malawi) as much it stands for more deforestation and a not so healthy main food source (white carbohydrates = sugar) under the less privileged,