Presentation:

The Children of O

Neo Futurist Dinner 10 - with Design Academy Eindhoven

4 Jul 2019
6 Jul 2019

A mythical community has inhabited Mediamatic to find solutions for the lack of usable water in Amsterdam, calling themselves the Children of O. Mediamatic's 10th Neo Futurist Dinner will playfully explore the effects of climate change on our eating culture and our relationship to water. 

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A moment for all those who have gone before us - Course 2 O. Now we shall take a moment to reflect, contemplate and share our ancestors sins and blessings, their ignorance and what they have left for us. With the hands above the head: Think of who you lost. Think of the people in the desert that share the bread that never rises. Think of the canned devil’s blood that swallowed our water. Let all this not go to waste. Remember the sacrifices with every bite. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

With:
Design Academy Eindhoven, Food non Food

The Children of O

80 years from now most of the the northern hemisphere is barely inhabitable...
Humanity failed to prevent its effects on climate change, but accelerated it. Extreme winds, erosion and heatwaves caused desertification - leaving most of the world uninhabitable. In this future scenario a dominant corporation privatised all fresh water sources and moved its headquarters to the only place left on earth with a moderate climate, the promised land: Antarctica.

Some of the people that remained in Amsterdam, gathered and formed a strong community at Mediamatic, calling themselves The Children of O. Their aim is to find solutions for water scarcity.

The Children of O depend on the cultivation of crops in seawater, the use of brackish water from the Oosterdok for food production, and cloud sourcing practices for drinking water. To celebrate their survival and their ingenious ways of working with water, they invite fellow survivors to take an annual trip to Mediamatic. 

During this celebration the Children of O will reflect on the past with its lack of usable water. What is our relation to water? What happens when clean water becomes more scarce? And what impact does this have on our food, habits and behaviour?

The Children of O invite you and other fellow survivors to join them for the annual water appreciation dinner.

Food non Food

The Children of O are a collective of students of the Food non Food bachelor programme at Design Academy Eindhoven. They will host this Neo Futurist Dinner.

Neo Futurist Dinners

In the Neo Futurist Dinner series, Mediamatic invites different artists and chefs to present their vision for the food of the future. In this way, we question the way in which food, art, science and politics intertwine.

Information

Neo Futurist Dinner 10 - The Children of O
Doors open at 19:00, dinner starts at 19:30
Mediamatic, Dijksgracht 6, 1019 BS Amsterdam
Six course menu: Full price €49,- | Discount €29,-* (including €1, - administration costs) 
Tickets: Thursday 4 July | Friday 5 July | Saturday 6 July 
Surcharge for alcoholic beverage pairing: € 15,-

*We give a discount to students and artists. If this applies to you we will ask to see your kvk nr/portfolio or student card for this option. For questions please send an email to mail@mediamatic.nl.

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Salts will be a big component of our future diet, upon entrance guests receive a personalized mix of salts -

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Vegetables on a salt-filled table, resembling the desert landscapes of the future - Course 2 - Edible landscape Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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The guests, fellow Children of O, interacting with the edible landscape - Course 1 Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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Before getting served the preserved treats and lentil stew, a moment of silence for the ones who have gone before us - Course 2 O. Now we shall take a moment to reflect, contemplate and share our ancestors sins and blessings, their ignorance and what they have left for us. With the hands above the head: Think of who you lost. Think of the people in the desert that share the bread that never rises. Think of the canned devil’s blood that swallowed our water. Let all this not go to waste. Remember the sacrifices with every bite. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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Indulging in the preserved delights of our Ancestors - Course 2 O. Now we shall take a moment to reflect, contemplate and share our ancestors sins and blessings, their ignorance and what they have left for us. With the hands above the head: Think of who you lost. Think of the people in the desert that share the bread that never rises. Think of the canned devil’s blood that swallowed our water. Let all this not go to waste. Remember the sacrifices with every bite. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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The Children of O's wardrobe: blue collar, brown robes and orange cap - always representing an O - Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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Children greeting each other in with an O - Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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An ode to the watermelon - Course 3 O. O watermelon once a juicy treat has changed a lot since the big big heat it shrunk it shrunk it shrunk and now it’s small evolution turned it into a tiny ball. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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OMargriet and OMarije enjoying their drink pairing wearing their O collars - Elizabeth Vasilyeva

With: Marije Vogelzang, Margriet Craens
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Guests breaking open cloud bun - Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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Guests, part of the community of The Children of O, enjoying a cloud bun together - Course 4 O. O Cloud O. Cloud We honor and thank you and want to give back. O Please accept our offers. Steam to water and water to steam. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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The Children of O checking if everyone is still hydrated enough during the annual water celebration - O. The land is dry, dust and salt have filled my lungs and eyes. My body is weak, my will has passed. We welcome you dear OChildren. We are so happy to have you all gathered here. Tonight we celebrate our survival in and off the dry landscape. Please dig into the landscape in front of you to remember these difficult times. Before you start eating, I would like you to join us for a collective O. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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Trying to fix the Cloud catcher to have at least a little bit of water during the annual celebration - O. And when Old Ove, the father of Cloudhunting passed away, may O he be blessed, his son was left with his teachings and secrets. He has traveled for 3 rains and 7 days when he found the Children of O and joined them with his knowledge. O now follow me outside. to meet OVictor the son of the great cloudhunter Ove. Please leave your glasses inside to not endanger the process. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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Pouring the dashi broth over the sea moss, seaweeds, samphire, dried mushroom and fresh red rice - creating a sea soup - Course 5 O When OJohanne walked the dry fields she saw the people taking the sea to the land and she asked: why? The people , answered: we need to grow the food. O dear people, she spoke, you don’t need to take water from the sea to the land to grow your food, O sea, O sea, it's already there. And she picked the fruits from the sea. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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At some point cola has become cheaper than water and preserved foods are a delight - Course 5 Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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- Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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Speeching during the water celebration - Telling the history of The Children of O before they found the solutions to the clean water shortage. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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09-07-2019 'The Children of O' were blessed with precious water from the cloud catcher - The Children of O organised a dinner to find playful solutions  and spread awareness for water shortage due to climate change.  The Children of O grow their crops in sea water, use the braque water of the Oosterdok for food production and source their water from clouds. O.   Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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The dish representing the Avocado war, with caramelised nuts, avocado coconut sorbet and choco-chiliflakes - Course 6 O. In the book of the instagram we found this passage: #avocado #chocolate #nuts #icecream #livingthebestlife (The avocado war, made it hard for us to source this but we managed to get our hands onto this rare ingredients in ways we can not share) Lets indulge this uniqueness. O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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The Children of O during their appreciation ritual - communal gurgling - Course 7 O dear Children, We come to our last prayer of the celebration. Join me on this final O. Please take a sip! (start gargling). Have a good travel home. A last O. Elizabeth Vasilyeva

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The Children of O face, hot, windy and salty weather -

With: Food non Food
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Edible landscape to reflect upon the moments of drought The Children of O experienced -

With: Food non Food
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Normally, we would never serve Coca-Cola at Mediamatic. For this dinner, it serves as an illustration for what we might eat or drink in 80 years. -