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Text k výstavě v ČJ.

hunt kastner is pleased to present a series of new photographic work by Daniela & Linda Dostálková entitled Gastro Guilt, in an exhibition of the same name curated by Caroline Krzyszton.  In their work, Daniela & Linda Dostálková often examine the complex problems faced by animal welfare activists, the persuasive strategies of their campaigns and the visual language they draw on. The artists trace unstable positions of uncharismatic species and women in the society and so-called cute versus wild paradox illustrating the human experience of nature. They attempt to provide the most open interpretation to the viewer to allegorize the concept of universal consideration of non-human species. In this new series of work, the artists focus on our complex relationship to gastronomy and the food industry.

“Food is a fundamental aspect of an individual’s identity because we are all biologically, psychologically, and socially shaped by the food we choose to eat. The human relationship to food is patently complex. It merges at least two distinct dimensions. The first extends from the biological to the cultural, from the nutritional function to a symbolic function. The second links the individual with the collective, the psychological with the social.

The aim of the Gastro Guilt series is to present a lyrical, yet stylized and cool impression of the contemporary gastro industry. The flawless compositions refer to the highly mechanized and hygienic production methods, behind which we find a disturbing view of industrial food production that appears to be a utopia, closely linked to our daily diet. The series thus takes a critical look at our eating habits, which we often mistakenly think of as a manifestation of the ‘wisdom of the body’.

The process that food undergoes during preparation is not purely material.  Above all, gastronomy operates in the realm of the imagination. More simplistically, we could say that it transforms nutritional raw materials from a state of nature into a state of culture: it is not defined by the choice of the ingredients themselves, whether transformed or not, but rather by a set of rules that give the order and meaning to the world. ” (L. & D. Dostálková, July 2023)