‘Harvest’ explores the production, consumption and symbolism of food. It takes as a point of departure colonial legacies and globalisation, labour and consumption in relation to the food industry. The exhibition will include over 100 works from all areas of the Gallery’s Collection, and will be presented in conjunction with the Australian Cinémathèque program ‘Harvest: Food on Film’.

Northern European still-life paintings of the seventeenth century evoked colonial prosperity through depicting food, flowers and spices from Africa, Asia and the Americas. Contemporary artists continue to explore the global trade in food. ‘Harvest’ will consider how globalisation makes available emblematic regional specialities from around the world. Beyond the stories of what the colonial period brought to Europe, this exhibition will also touch on food moving from north to south, and the impact that this has had on food production in communities, as well as the alternative modes of production often developed from local knowledges. The labour involved in the production and distribution of what we eat is another important area of consideration for contemporary artists - from rice farmer to gleaner, and factory worker to the housewife. A discussion of labour also counterpoints the question of the status derived from food; the exhibition will explore the role of food as a symbol of prestige – whether through exclusivity or sheer excess.

*image (left)
SUPERFLEX Denmark est. 1993
Flooded McDonalds (still), 2009
RED video installation: colour, sound, 20 minutes, 16:9, ed. 3/5, 400 x 700cm (variable)
Purchased 2010 with funds from Tim Fairfax, AM,
through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation
Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art