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Director
Soup that Wraps and Fulfills ––– The Birth of Food, Clothing and Shelter
What comes to mind when you hear the word "soup"?
I had a memorable experience relating to soup in 2003 when I was traveling through Russia and eastern Europe. The only hot meal available to me was soup, and in backpackers' hostels, I made it from the vegetables that found in local markets. A bowl of soup, the "minimal unit of food," supported me on my journey.
While on the road, I came across a photograph of Romania in 1900 showing farmers seated on the ground enjoying soup from large bowls. There was neither poverty nor wealth, only a certain presence of people sharing their lives. Soup linked person to person, and each to place and time.
And then, we all share the most fundamental soup- the liquid that surrounded and fostered us before we were even born. We were all once sheltered by the wrapping of a mother' s body, placenta was our clothing, and amniotic fluid our food, before we were even born.
The salinity of amniotic fluid is 0.9%, which is the same as most people's preferred salinity of soup. It also contains a high amount of glutamic acid, a key umami component. In other words, we were surrounded by delicious soup while still in the womb.
Food, clothing and shelter are the base needs that wrap our lives inside and out. This exhibition is an experiment in reconsidering these fundamental elements via issues of bodily sensation. It takes soup as the starting point. At the same time, it goes further, advocating a perpetual respect for life.
What do you see beyond the steam that rises from the bowl? Life requires food, clothing and shelter. Here's wishing that life will be filled with joy and hope.
Natsumi Toyama
Natsumi Toyama
Designer. Graduated from Musashino Art University with a degree in Scenography, Display and Fashion Design. While working as a clothing designer for ISSEY MIYAKE INC., she sets soup as the main axis of her independent creative work. Toyama's contention is that while clothing and shelter wrap us from outside, food does so internally. She is the author of "POTAGE-yasai tappuri kazoku no supu (Vegetable-rich soup for all the family)" (Ikeda Publishing, 2014).