Murcia's orchard becomes a piece of art in Manifesta 8 with the project of Metahaven
The Dutch artist's group Metahaven will use distribution networks of the fruit and vegetables produced in the Murcia Region to expand its artistic project through Spain and Europe.
It's well-known that the Murcia Region is one of the richest regions in fruit and vegetables production and, therefore, is still known as the Europe's Huerta. In fact, nobody is surprised to find fruits and vegetables produced in Murcia and its surroundings municipalities in many supermarkets all around the Continent. The reason is that the Region produces 13% of the total fruit and vegetable distributed around Europe.
Signal (Murcia) is an artistic project which will profit from the wide distribution network of the Murcian fruits to expand itself all around Europe. The project, created by Metahaven (Vinka Kruk and Daniel van der Velden), consists of creating a series of stickers which will be placed during Manifesta 8 on the Region's cultivated fruits and vegetables. These labels, specially designed by Metahaven, will refer to the geopolitical situation of the territory where the fruits have been produced and will include some graphics which will search to cause the surprise of the spectator visiting the Biennale and in the client which purchases the fruits where normally purchased, inside and outside Murcia.
The labels fruits purchased at the supermarket normally have an utilitarian and informative nature. They are usually used to designate the origin, type or the product brand on which they are sticked. Nevertheless, these labels have turned lately into the desire object of some collectors, though during the last years much of the romanticism of these fetish labels has given way to the bar codes and other more technical identification systems.
Anyway, Signal (Murcia) will try to highlight and idealize the local and true part of the Region's agricultural products following the trend which, more and more, is being followed by the organic food brands. On the other hand, it will visualize how the different territories are in dialogue with external influences.
Fruits and vegetables labeled will be distributed and sold using the normal ways and will be exposed as well in a great building situated in Manifesta 8. It is an installation which will work as a food market in which fruits will be distributed on the floor and at visitor's reach, who will be able to take them and to take them home. The installation, created by Metahaven and curated by Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF) will be opened to the public in the former Oficina de Correos y Telegrafos of Murcia from October 9th till January 9th.
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