Delicious inspiration

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This article was published 12/07/2024 (787 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Food connects us, bridging the gap between past and present, self and community. This idea forms the heart of to be held in two hands, a new exhibition at Martha Street Studio.

Featuring the works of Sonali Menezes from Ontario and Snack Witch Joni Cheung from Quebec, the exhibit delves into the intimate relationship between food, cultural heritage and personal identity.

“It takes two hands to clear off a table, wash a tower of dishes, cut a mango, serve a meal, feed others, nourish ourselves,” the exhibit’s introduction reads. This connection to food, to the act of sharing and nurturing, weaves through the artists’ personal histories and creative practices.

Menezes and Cheung (whose pronouns are they/them), both part of the Asian diaspora in Canada, bring their cultural backgrounds and experiences into their work.

Menezes, whose family roots trace back to Goa, India, recalls her early days of painting tropical birds and flowers from magazines as a child.

“In the fourth grade, I got really into doing watercolour paintings,” says Menzies, 31. “I would skip lunch recess and go home to paint instead because I enjoyed it so much. And by sixth grade, I started doing oil painting.”

This early passion laid the foundation for her interdisciplinary practice, which sometimes centres around food. Her zine, Depression Cooking, won best info zine in 2022 from Broken Pencil Magazine.

Cheung’s journey was less direct. Growing up in a household where English was spoken at school and Cantonese at home, they found it challenging to communicate their desires, especially around food.

“Learning to draw the meal I wanted was a way for me to have the food I wanted to eat,” Cheung says.

After initially considering careers in biology or veterinary science, their path eventually led to visual arts, where food became a significant medium of expression during the pandemic.

“I was doing my master’s at Concordia; because of the pandemic, we didn’t have access to our studios or facilities, but we were still expected to make work,” Cheung says.

“I was really depressed, and watching YouTube videos of other people cooking foods that I missed eating at home — it was the one thing that got me through being quarantined.”

This sparked an interest in how diasporic communities use food to connect with their ancestry and family.

“Food is like the one thing that my family consistently does together,” the artist says. “It’s how they ask me if I’m taking care of myself.”

Menezes’ exploration of food in art began during her undergraduate studies with a video series called Greasy Dreams, featuring women and non-binary people eating their favorite foods in their beds.

This series was both nourishing and beneficial for Menezes as she worked through an eating disorder.

“Making art about food was very healing for me. It allowed me to connect with a broader audience because so many people can relate to the experience of being hungry and needing to eat.”

For Menezes and Cheung, collaborating on to be held in two hands was a natural fit, given their shared interests. The duo’s collaboration began serendipitously. Cheung was in Hamilton for a residency, working on a project called Ghosts of the Gallery. During this time, they were introduced to Menezes and her zine club in Hamilton.

“Martha Street Studio then put us together,” Cheung says. “We submitted proposals separately, and they thought our themes were very similar and would work well in a dual exhibition.”

Menezes says it’s been challenging collaborating from different provinces, but they’ve made it work.

To be held in two hands is a multidisciplinary experience. Menezes and Cheung have created artwork across various media, including silkscreen prints, video installations and photography. Menezes’ prints use turmeric as an ink, and Cheung’s silkscreen prints on towels create soft sculptures that evoke the domestic spaces where food and memories intertwine.

“I would love for it to spark memories for our viewers of their own experience and relationship to food, their ancestry, and their connection to food,” Menzes says. “I want it to spark joy and maybe make people hungry.”

Cheung adds, “I hope people think about how we care for one another through objects and find significance in the ordinary moments.”

In addition to the visual display, the artists will host a free workshop on Aug. 24, using food-based inks made from turmeric, ube (purple yam), Kashmiri chili powder and possibily spirulina.

“It’s an intro-friendly workshop,” Menezes says. “You don’t need to know anything about screen printing to participate. It’s very chilled and relaxed.”

The exhibit runs from July 12 to Aug. 24, with a closing reception on Aug. 23.

thandi.vera@freepress.mb.ca