Penser, Manger, Partager
This series of pieces named Penser, Manger, Partager (French for to think, to eat, to share) whose final form is that of a habitat, is similar to Le Refuge (2015) in its structure and function however differs in its pedagogy and commitment. Penser, Manger, Partager is rooted in the artist's on going questioning and reflection on the environmental issue, highlighting matters related to our daily diet and consumption patterns.By launching a call for participation on her website and on various platforms, the artist collected donations of plant based textiles of which their owners had no use; white cottons and linens. At the core of this initiative also resides a social aspect. The different fabrics can be compared to a vessel for our collective memory, this is truly reflected in the clothes and textile recovered over the months through this project.
Since the winter of 2015, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck has dyed the samples in a natural way using the peelings and pit of fruits and vegetables that she and her family consumed daily. This slow and patient approach to ecological dyeing combines durability and serendipity. Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck has from the beginning adopted a humble attitude towards the practice of plant dye and this process allowed her to create the patchworks necessary for the finalisation of tents.
Penser, Manger, Partager I calls for awareness of the depletion of resources, in the heart of the tent is embroidered a French quote from the United Nations which translates to "90% of fish stocks have disappeared compared to 1950. At this pace, if nothing is done, all stocks will be collapsed by 2048, called the year of the last fish”. This embroidery is of a double symbolism; the urgency of our actions to preserve a future on Earth and the decrease of the rhythm of our lives. Embroidery is recurrent in the work of Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck.
Penser, Manger, Partager I was first exhibited at Nidi Gallery (Tokyo) in 2018. Penser, Manger, Paratager II, was commissioned by Deptford X (curated by Jareh Das) and first exhibited at Lewisham Arthouse (London) in 2022. Penser, Manger, Partager II is a collaboration with architect Takashi Hayatsu.
Text by Eléonore Grignon with the supervision of Galerie Jean-Francois Kaiser & Poetic Pastel Press.
Photographs by Jatinder Singh Durhailay, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, Corey Bartle-Sanderson and Deptford X.