Narcissus Nature Morte Mukbang: A Performance

April 10, 2022 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Narcissus Nature Morte Mukbang by Emily Perry is made in response to Gayle Chong Kwan’s photographic series Cockaigne (2004) and the wider collection of art by women in The Women’s Art Collection. It uses humour to explore consumption, feminism, the fetishisation of nature and food in the context of the pandemic and climate crisis.

In a time of disconnection, we’ll practice being ourselves, individually and together, in a guided meditation. Participants will be invited into the Murray Edwards gardens to ground themselves in the earth, look deeply, plant vegetables, pick daffodils, and breathe. An established art historical portrayal of women in nature is subverted, and our current eager consumption of nature in the context of lockdowns and global warming is explored.

A performance by women at the table will sarcastically depict an art historical and contemporary societal portrayal of women in relation to food. The female performers hopelessly attempt to conduct the audience as they eat lunch and socialise; they pose as table decorations; they bring food to their mouths but don’t eat it; they repeat. The audience can observe or ignore the performing women, like the artworks on the tables and the walls, while eating lunch.

The performance will be followed by an artist talk with Gayle Chong Kwan and Emily Perry in the iconic fountain courtyard at Murray Edwards College. The event is part of the Cambridge Festival 2022. 

Photography and video by Wilf Speller