2023 Self directed brief
In 2050, traditional Spanish ingredients have become extremely scarce as a consequence of the collapse of our food system. Re-sense is an eating utensil that employs scent-infused paper strips to bring these extinct flavours back to life.
2050, Spain. Droughts caused by the changing climate have dried up olive groves and vineyards, anchovies and Bluefin tuna have been overfished to the brink of extinction and local tomato varieties have been lost to intensive commercial agriculture. The flavours that once defined Spanish cuisine have vanished, becoming elusive and unattainable.
Re-sense is a specialized eating utensil thoughtfully crafted to embrace the Spanish tradition of tapas and pinchos that uses scent-infused paper strips and decadent images to recover lost flavours. Re-sense is used by nostalgic Spaniards that can no longer afford these ingredients as an attempt to revive distant recollections of the food they used to eat growing up. What they took for granted is no longer there.
00 Thesis
Agrobiodiversity & Culture
When agrobiodiversity is lost culture is lost.
We see this in action when local varieties stop being cultivated because they can’t compete with high yielding hybrid or genetically modified varieties and with the insipid uniform fruits and vegetables in supermarkets.
Traditional ways of farming that have historically given way to agrobiodiversity are also being lost as they have no monetary value. Crops, genes and culture are being standardized and monopolised.
How will we experience food in 30 years if the agricultural system continues to prioritize economic profit and high yields over local cultural significance and taste?
Key readings:
The Perfect Meal: The Multisensory Science of Food and Dining,
Betina Piqueras-Fiszman (Author) & Charles Spence (Author)
Food: Bigger than the plate,
May Rosenthal (Author) & Catherine Flood (Editor)
The Senses Still,
C. Nadia Seremetakis
Biopiracy,
Vandana Shiva
01 Research
Factors destabilising the global food system & Spanish staples at risk
01 Climate change
03 Desertification
04 Overfishing
05 Intensive commercial farming practices
Anchovies are also at risk of disappearing from the Spanish diet in 2050. They will become smaller in size as ocean temperatures rise and they have reduced ability to migrate to new areas. Populations of anchovies will be further diminished by overfishing.
Climate change also threatens olive growing regions with desertification, droughts and overly high temperatures that reduce crop yields and make olive oil much more expensive. In 2023 it has already reached prices which many Spaniards can’t afford.
How do we perceive flavour?
Multisensory flavour perception involves the integration of multiple sensory inputs, including taste, smell, vision, and touch. The brain combines all of these sensory inputs to create our experience of flavour.The scent-infused paper strips enable a low-tech multisensory experience.
Research Material:
The Perfect Meal: The Multisensory Science of Food and Dining by Betina Piqueras-Fiszman & Charles Spence
In addition I conducted two interviews with two different scent artists to understand more about the role of smell in food and the feasibility of producing artificial scents.
02 Experimentation
How can we eat with smell?
03 Ideation
How can design empower Spanish people in 2050 to regain the taste, knowledge and culture of eating Tapas & Pinchos in a situation of extreme ingredient scarcity?
Mild steel modelmaking
By making the forks by hand I got a better sense of how they would feel to use when made in stainless steel. The first dotted version was a bit too heavy and the tines were too short. On the second version, on the right, the tines were longer but not curved enough.
What will the experience of tapas in 2050 be?
Spain, 2050
Carlos, Marga and Celia are three siblings in the García Family.
They have become nostalgic of the food they used to eat when they were young but is now too expensive or non-existent.
The real ingredients have become extinct or they can't afford them but they can buy Re-sense to make up for the lack of ingredients and general blandness of food.
Changing food rituals
New eating rituals are established, such as smelling your own skin to reset your sense of smell in between scents. This is a technique currently used by perfumers to reset their sense of smell when smelling different perfumes.