Nine Meals from Chaos: How a crisis can cripple Sydney’s food supply
The Nine Meals from Chaos exhibition in Bankstown examines how Sydney has enough food for only three days if there is a major crisis.
The Express
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Making bomb shelters from their stocks of salted fish and then eating from it when food ran short are vivid memories for Bankstown artist My Le Thi whose work is featured on the Nine Meals from Chaos exhibition.
She has dipped into her past in South Vietnam for her thought-provoking artwork at the timely Nine Meals From Chaos exhibition, which is based on studies saying Sydney has enough fresh food for just three days in a crisis.
“The theme of the exhibition reminds me of the Vietnam War when the markets were closed,” Ms Thi said.
“I remember when I was a child, our family had salted fish in sacks which were also used in our bomb shelter.
“When the food ran short, we opened the sacks and used the fish for our meals.”
The exhibition runs at the Bankstown Arts Centre until September 13 and also features artists Machiko Motoi, James Nguyen and Tam Nguyen.
The centre asked the four artists to explore the ideas of food sustainability and security, the growing of food and consumption of food.
According to Sydney’s Food Futures, a government-funded research project, loss of agriculture presents huge risks to the resilience of the region, health of residents and the viability of farming operations.
“A disruption in the major transport routes into Sydney from a bushfire or fuel shortages could leave Sydney with only days worth of fresh produce,” Sydney Food Futures says in its report.
Ms Thi said because of what she and her family experienced during the Vietnam way, the Nine Meals From Chaos exhibition resonates strongly with her.
“It does not matter where we are, we can still go hungry,” Ms Thi, who has lived in Sydney since 1984 and done lots of exhibitions, said.
“I have also built a small bomb shelter as a part of my art work, using cardboard to show what it was like then.
“This (shortage of food) can happen when things get out of control.”
There is a special program at the centre on August 31, from noon until 4pm, with giveaways of plants, composting, worm farms, native bees (noon until 1pm), talks by the artists (1pm until 2pm) followed by a forum (2.30pm until 3.30pm) facilitated by celebrity gardener Costa Georgiadis, which explores the potential of food sustainability in your backyard.
Details: artscentre@cbcity.nsw.gov.au.
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