The third edition of Yeast International Photo Festival is an opportunity to see, think and appreciate photography, food and images that tell stories about production and awareness that link food consumption to environmental and social sustainability. In fact, the claim of the festival, which takes place in Salento, between Matino and Lecce, is “From the planet to the plate”. Emphasis is placed on visual arts as an essential tool for rethinking the relationship between man and the environment.
According to Edda Fahrenhorst, artistic director of the festival, “there are questions that may seem obvious for an essential daily activity like eating. What did you eat today? Where do the ingredients come from? Are they fresh or processed? These are questions that invite us to think about our food, its origins and its sustainability.”
For example, there are trends that do not take into account that the production of certain foods requires a lot of water, leading to overexploitation of water resources or the use of pesticides, or that certain crops, such as lawyer, were abandoned. infiltrated by stories of organized crime.
But food is also a culture. Through its history, we can trace the history of humanity as it has declined over time and space. It is also a sign of a techno-social system, which in turn has an impact on the climate and the economy. Yeast also offers training days on topics ranging from the circular economy to the 5.0 transition, including corporate sustainability, labor exploitation and supply chain control (environmental, social and environmental factors). governance).
To better understand, it is possible to look at the images of the fifteen photographic projects exhibited here, in Salento, between the white houses and the old underground oil mills of Matino and the baroque of Lecce. Yeast (just like sourdough, a true cultural ferment) aims to promote cultural fermentation and offers a plurality of points of view: hence the presence of experts in photography, food, sustainable development, musicians.
Production systems, supply chains, consumption and habits that complicate the relationship between humans and the environment are the focus of photographers’ attention. Many exhibitions make their debut in Italy.
Let’s start with the exhibitions at Palazzo Marchesale Del Tufo in Matino. If health is at the heart of Pablo Ernesto Piovano’s project The Human Costreport on the impact of agrochemical products on human health produced in Argentina, Food for Thoughtsby photographer and filmmaker Kadir van Lohuizen, follows food production and distribution processes in Kenya, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China and the Netherlands (his home country), examining the impact on the environment, public health and the economy. Holy Cow by Carolina Arantes takes care of the production of the meat that ends up on our plates, a very impactful industry that meets a strong demand for this product.
Same place for Florian W. Müller, with CÚin which various organs of an animal are artistically placed on a pedestal. The project was created exclusively for the Yeast International Photo Festival. FEAST NO MORE Food Hypertrophy in Vernacular Photography Collection by Jean-Marie Donat presents a selection of images created especially for the festival: shots of amused hens and smiling cows taken from advertising posters (expressing the story of consumerist happiness, but on a more careful reading, also a critique of the food industry).
Axel Javier Sulzbacher of Green Shades, documents the pressures of extensive avocado cultivation in Central America, with the destruction of forests and the infiltration of drug cartels. Jean-Marc Caimi & Valentina Piccinni follow the theme of tropical fruit crops, which are developing in Sicily (a consequence of climate change). Tropicalia is on display at Masseria Le Stanzie in Supersano (Lecce).
At the Ex Nau butchery in Matino, Mijn Duifje (where I am / my beautiful) A pact between a man and a bakery by Nynke Brandsma talks about safety, feeding, research and a person’s love for a bird. Henrike Stahl with L’Arc Sera Parmi Les Nuages (at Frantoio ipogeo, Matino), against a backdrop of the impact of the climate crisis on vineyards and inspired by natural production methods, immerses prints in wine or in waters of the Garonne, then places them in a bottle of wine to keep them in the cellar: a message for posterity. Also at Matino, but outdoors, you can see Don’t Play with Food (a project commissioned by the festival) by Alessia Rollo, while Welcome to Yesterday, by Alexander Yegorov, winner of the Irinox Save the Food Award (in collaboration with Mia Fair and Irinox) focuses on the tradition of coming together to enjoy food.
Mouth (Oasis) by Seif Kousmate, at the Chiostro dell’Antico Seminario in Lecce, is a four-year work that deepens knowledge of life around oases. Still in Lecce, at the Palazzo Scarciglia, presented for the first time in Europe, Thank you for your pleasant visit, the pretty flowers and the delicious strawberries by Sarah Boutin, with a poetic-documentary approach, recounts experiences in a convent in Quebec.
Finally, in Recale (Lecce), The Forest Knows tells stories of indigenous resistance to ecosystem devastation: Nicolò Lanfranchi tells the story of the Asháninka people from the village of Apiwtxa in Acre (Brazil). Here, millions of trees have been planted in an attempt to preserve their territory and culture. This action allowed the village to achieve self-sufficiency, with a balance between tradition and modernity.
In Castrignano dei Greci (Lecce), Kateřina Sýsová, in Kukbuk, explores typically Czech customs and conventions, suggesting different levels of interpretation of the images.
The Yeast Photo Festival, organized by the cultural associations Besafe and ONTHEMOVE, is directed by Flavio & Frank and Veronica Nicolardi and curated by Edda Fahrenhorst.
Paola Sammartano
Yeast Photo Festival
From September 19 to November 3, 2024
Matino, Lecce and its provinces
https://www.yeastphotofestival.it/
Related News :