Colonial Translocations of Plants and Taste

In this workshop, Charlotte Ming and Shi Yangkun explore the connections between colonial history, plant migration and food practices. By tracing the journey of the North American tree Robinia, we see how European colonialism played a role in its spread across continents, influencing both ecosystems and culinary practices along the way.

Participants take part in a collaborative process to prepare a northern Chinese recipe. Through this shared experience, we explore the creativity and adaptability of communities that have incorporated new species into their food cultures as a practice of agency, reclamation and healing.

The recipe is vegetarian. The workshop will take place on a demo station by the artist Rirkrit Tiravanija in the Gropius Bau’s atrium, which is accessible to everyone free of admission.

 

Charlotte Ming is a journalist, writer and visual editor based in Berlin. She is currently researching about the legacy of German colonialism, particularly in her hometown Qingdao, China. Her work has been published in TIME, National Geographic, the South China Morning Post, die Taz and Atlas Obscura, among others.

Shi Yangkun is a Shanghai-based photographer and visual artist whose work seeks to visualise hidden history, invisible traumas and violence. His work has been exhibited in the Peabody Essex Museum, Shanghai Center of Photography, Zhejiang Art Museum and Art Museum of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, among others.