The Sides of the Pepper
A publication on fruit production and the role of pepper in the Netherlands, developed with researchers at Wageningen University.
The Sides of the Pepper looks at the Netherlands' fruit production landscape through the lens of pepper, an unlikely but persistent presence in Dutch greenhouse agriculture and trade. Developed in collaboration with researchers at Wageningen University, the publication sets out to trace how pepper sits alongside more visible fruit crops within the same systems of cultivation, packaging, and distribution.
Pepper acquired forms in countless ways. Pepper represents national treasures and commemoration of past times. Pepper is the ingredient to create a paprika powder, and pepper is kept safely in archives and genebanks. Pepper is a vegetable that requires constant perfecting and breeding by biologists and breeding companies. Pepper constructs one chain in the endless fruit and vegetable production, kept in continuous movement by the output of capitalism and commercial value. Pepper is produced from the best crop seeds of genebanks and prepared in laboratories and greenhouses so peppers can have prolonged shelf life. Pepper is made to be better quality, and its colour becomes more suitable for the customer's appetite. Pepper is archived and deconstructed in research centres. Pepper is measured, locked, and kept safely. Pepper symbolises globalisation and forming Eastern Europe into a Western shape. Pepper acquired forms in countless ways.
Project details
- Year: 2022
- Medium: Publication, research
Collaborators
- Researchers, Wageningen University
- More information coming soon.