BRUYNEEL TJORVEN

Recent years have seen a resurgence in foraging for food. Top chefs, including Gill Meller, Claus Meyer and René Redzepi, have promoted the practice of gathering plants. Why, in an era when the most necessary things are just a few clicks away, do many seek the thrill of finding their own food?
 

There are clear benefits to wild harvesting in the modern world. Not only does it cut the collector’s own food costs, but there may be health advantages too. Just as controlled foraging is one of the most environmentally friendly means of supplying food.
 

​This knowledge has been essential for human survival at all times. Before the advent of agriculture, the gathering of plants together with the hunt for animals was obvious. Later, it was related to the depletion of the land, economic crises, war or climate change. For many people around the world, foraging is culturally ingrained and it is an age-old tradition that lives on. 
 

In Latvia, I learned more about foraging and the methods of preparing these plants. I'm not a herbalist, a nature activist or a cook, rather someone who comes from a country where the habit of foraging is almost lost. Not to forget, I do have a real passion for eating. Food is a great subject and art can be used as a metaphor to reflect on daily habits and to question food-related perspectives in the future.

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Created at the residency Rucka Cēsis 2021