craving earth
︎ ABOUT
Craving Earth was a three-week experimental unit tracing the cultural, social and political presence of soil, from under our feet and into our bellies. On the ground, we explored the city of London through the realities which aim to reconnect us with the land and its stories. From humans’ earliest ingestions to current trends, we sought to understand our interactions with soil, while investigating the methods used to obtain it, consume it, heal through it, transform it, grow and build with it.
︎ PROCESS
Where food lies at the basis of human survival, the way in which it is consumed and shared underlies a diversity of cultural identities and social rituals. For food, we all share a basic understanding: it connects us as an organic part of our daily routine, as well as the exceptional moments of our social existence. And in this role of necessity, food is political – an aspect which, now more than ever, needs addressing.
︎OUTPUT
Over the three weeks of Summer School, the unit produced a number of prototypes, events, objects, small publications and digital media, all collaboratively collected in a shared archive which was presented in the form of a large scale performative meal on the 26th July 2023: In Soil We Feast.
This 90+ diners strong gathering was curated, constructed and cooked by the students of the Craving Earth unit and brought into a focus the exploration of earth through an experimental food-scape made of corn chandeliers, potato snakes, fermented sour pancakes and jams, cured eggs and edible soil mountains.
“You have to go underground. Under the ground, the social relations of plants and of fungi are at their most active and visible. If you want to see what I call ‘the city,’ a dynamic scene where all kinds of organisms are working together, you can’t stay above the ground.”
Rosetta Elkin
︎︎︎FOCUS
Exploring the politics of soil through food
︎︎︎LOCATION
Architectural Association, Bedford Square, London, UK
︎︎︎TEAM
AA Summer School Unit and AA Staff
︎︎︎BUDGET
£3.000
︎︎︎COMMISSIONER
AA Summer School
︎︎︎COLLABORATORS
Emma Katarina Kaufmann Laduc, Jess Rowain, students of Unit 1 AA SS
