Hacked

In the design department of the Milanese store La Rinascente partour maid Sonja Stummerer and chief waiter Martin Hablesreiter lay a three-meter long table. According to the color (black, white, blue, green, red), they arrange power drills, laboratory equipment, cutlery, set squares and various groceries before they get changed the first time. In black overalls, using styrocut and Stanley knives, they “design” a food. They change several times, switch colors and thematically treat the food in front of them. Among other things, honey & bunny make a bowl out of red cabbage leaves and plum jam, and carve jelly babies out of a courgette.

This performance deals with the different stages of food design. Sonja Stummerer and Martin Hablesreiter portray designers, chemists, medics, producers and consumers in a satirical way. The action takes place in public space: in a department store while it is open. This differentiates “food operation 012” from reality. There, the most trivial consumer goods – groceries – are designed behind the sealed doors of large production plants.