Cultural tip on SDG 2: Photo exhibition ‘One third’
- 2022-12-02
- Janna Degener-Storr
The photo exhibition "One third" by Klaus Pichler draws attention to the problem of food waste and thus to SDG 2 "".
The pictures look aesthetically pleasing at first glance, and the products shown seem exquisite. The revolting aspect requires closer inspection and reading the titles. Are those ... rotten strawberries? Mouldy sausages? Maggots in the flour? Yes, it’s true!
– is the title of the photography project by the Austrian artist Klaus Pichler. His explanation in English is typed onto a receipt: No less than one third of our food goes to waste, especially in the industrialised nations of the Global North. At the same time, 925 million people around the world are threatened by starvation. The series describes the connection between individual wastage of food and globalised food production.
The still lifes of spoiled food are just as distressing as this information, especially in combination with the texts with supporting facts that the artist added to each image: Where was the produce farmed? How much water was wasted for this? How much carbon dioxide was produced for taking the products to their destination with ships, planes and lorries?
The photos were published in a by Anzenberger Edition in 2013. In addition, the exhibition ‘One third’ has been on display in many countries since 2014. The artist talks about this work in greater detail in interviews with Magazin für Restkultur and and there is a with sound on YouTube.