Dowsing for Woo
Collaborative project with Lisa Myers during Food Water Life, a thematic residency with Lucy + Jorge Orta at The Banff Centre
Artists, staff and faculty artists were invited to a potluck dinner on Valentine's Day. Each guest was asked to make a dish to share and
Woo Food – Saturday, February 14, 2015
woo
v. wooed, woo·ing, woos v.tr.
1. To seek the affection of (someone, especially a woman) with the intent to marry or begin a romantic relationship.
The event was held at the Tunnel Mountain Lounge dining room/kitchen. A custom scale was created for "measuring" the amount of woo in each dish. Lisa created an edition of 30 silkscreen prints, one for each dish, printed with juice of blueberries. I created a custom dowsing rod for the event, binding a wooden spoon and lavender to the branch.
Each dish was brought to the table and was placed in the dowsing rod spoon. The food was then placed in the centre of a print. Hovering over the food, I would wait for the rod to move and land on a selection. Sometimes the movement would be short and direct, falling onto the paper. Other times, the rod would move slowly, circling above the print, finally stopping above the paper.
Once the selection was made, the print was stamped by Lisa and signed by both of us. Each print was given away to the person that created the dish that was dowsed. Everyone enjoyed watching Dowsing for Woo. Even the wine and drinks were evaluated for their ability to woo.