The Breadman Project
Installation, Photography
2009
Exhibition
June 6—July 2
Schooltuin Gaasperplas, Amsterdam Zuidoost
Artists: Anita Kooij, Emily Kocken, Saskia de Brauw
Supported by
AFK, Stichting Zero Amsterdam,
Stadsbakkerij Jongejans,
NME Amsterdam Zuidoost, Houtzagerij Rademaker
If man was made of bread, would birds dare eat him?
The Breadman Project explored the troublesome relationship between birds and humans in the city, focusing on the fragile hierarchical order amongst birds, symbolic of the sociocultural construction of society.
I baked a human-sized bread doll and transported it every Sunday for three months to different [sub]urban areas of Amsterdam. Placed in open spaces next to apartment buildings, the attack and consumption of Breadman was watched by local residents and passers-by as a public execution. This series of temporary sculptural performances, with ritualized movements is inspired by pagan bread sacrifices for fertility and better fortune.