Social Qualities of a Potato: a Relational Tool
Community, Autoethnography, Mapping2023/2024
2x1,5 m map, 11x 2 min videos
Veenhuizen – a former domestic colony, penal colony, prison village, currently a village and a prison under UNESCO World Heritage title.
In a place distant in terms of location, culture and time, a common topic is necessary to approach the context. What makes a place and brings it to life is the human, the community. And what could be more essential to the mental and physical well-being than food? Through centuries, the potato bread gave sustenance to the workers and prisoners from Colonies of Benevolence. The potato, a shared staple of the table, becomes a relation point, the topic of every conversation. By investigating the culinary, social and historical aspects of the starchy vegetable, Eglė’s research creates a connection with Veenhuizen.
Eglė created suitable conditions for flavourful dialogues by working-along Veenhuizers. The time together was a multi-layered moment of exchange, infused with topics of history, love and political beliefs. Conversations, experiences of someone else’s day, observations of individuals within their community were captured through film, personal impressions and notes. Eglė listens, without forcing a script, the needs and interests of the community become clearer. A potato becomes a window into the domestic and emotional texture of Veenhuizen. The profiles of people are at the core of her proposition for a subjective atlas.
