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 habitat, is similar to Le Refuge (2015) in its structure and function; however, it 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 calls for participation on her website and on various platforms since 2015, the artist collected donations of plant-based textiles that their owners had no use for: white cotton 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 textiles recovered over the months through this project.
Since the winter of 2014, 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 patchwork 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.
Penser, Manger, Paratager III was first exhibited in Edge Effects (curated by Kirsty Lowry) at Whitechapel Gallery (London) in 2024. The piece then travelled to Beaune (France) for TERRA II (curated by Jenn Ellis and Emie Diamond).
Text by Eléonore Grignon with the supervision of Galerie Jean-Francois Kaiser & Poetic Pastel Press.
Photographs by Jatinder Singh Durhailay, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, Rob Harris, Whitechapel Gallery, Corey Bartle-Sanderson and Deptford X.