Comfort Food

The United States of America is made up mostly of people who immigrated at some point. They have different cultural backgrounds, customs and habits. In Germany and Europe, too, diversity in the population is increasing, partly viewed with reservation. Disputes often arise because we focus on what separates us. This prevents us from coming together. But what could unite us all? Is there a common ground that is emotionally comprehensible for all people? Almost atavistic? That has always been like that? Nuala Kennedy found it in food. A basic need all over the world at all times. For her project, she asked 17 people of different ethnicities about their „comfort food,“ that is, a favorite food that gives them a special feeling of wellbeing. The artist from the States received a variety of answers. A variety of personal stories that were behind each choice. Some favorite dishes were very culture-specific, others more international. However, they all had one thing in common: they made people happy and reminded them of something meaningful. Nuala asked three people to take a seat at the set table. They were talking animatedly. Nuala was able to photograph the scenery unnoticed. Then she drew the favorite dishes of the three on paper, cut them out and placed the paper dishes on the empty plates of the photo. She added to the image the autobiographical statements of her protagonists, in different languages. While the deceptively real-looking food on paper on the plate shows that it is interchangeable, the multilingual texts illustrate that this is about all the people in the world. Finally, Nuala Kennedy set the scene free and inserts the image of the open sky as a ceiling as a sign that it does not end here. A call to think about what connects us as humans. The front seat at the table is free, the plate empty. Do I join them? Do I talk to the others about my food experiences and my story? Am I interested in theirs?