Detestable and delectable

Kirsha Kaechele’s Eat the Problem serves up invasive species and a persuasive proposition for turning flaws into features via art, philosophy, music and hemlock.

The dense physicality of artist Kirsha Kaechele’s gastro-surrealist tome Eat the Problem, published in March this year, makes the gravity of its pursuit apparent from first contact. The 544-page hardcover book, produced with speciality-grade Italian paper spanning all colours of the rainbow and divided by seven coordinating ribbon markers is a visual feast; a publishing feat.

Including the work of 53 artists, 9 thinkers, 28 chefs, 18 writers, 6 musicians and 10 “non-consensual collaborators,” the publication’s content fluidly traverses recipes, historical essays, philosophical propositions, artist profiles, poetry, artefacts, contemporary art and music, providing a holistic take on the social and cultural significance of each intruding creature.

One moment, you may be salivating over pancetta-wrapped nutria with red wine parpadelle and blueberries (as proposed by New Orleans chef Susan Spicer), the next reading about the religious symbolism of the snail as a metaphor of the Virgin birth (as recounted by MONA’s Jane Clark) before finding yourself scanning QR codes and listening to Arto Lindsay’s ceremonial song for the feral fox whilst contemplating the taste of fox tikka masala (“First catch your fox, although I’d prefer you use ‘accidental meat’ – what others might call ‘roadkill’” instructs famous forager Fergus Drennan). Before you know it, you’ll be hightailing it through Texas in the dead of night gunning down feral hogs (beware page 506) and coming face-to-face with Socrates’ literal poison of choice (spoiler alert: he killed himself with a hemlock cocktail).

Exploring the nature of invasive species through such varied perspectives makes the case for assessing them beyond the binary of problem and solution, existence and extinction.

Transformative problem-solving and social change through art is author/artist Kirsha Kaechele’s modus operandi. Whilst based in New Orleans, Kaechele founded the Life is Art Foundation through which she ran projects such as CA$H 4 GUN$, an artistic program and bloc party involving religious leaders, artists and musicians alongside a gun buy-back. More recently, Kaechele initiated Heavy Metal, a collaboration with 60 scientists to take on the issue of heavy metals in the River Derwent.

This background speaks to the cacophony of Eat the Problem – rather than pigeonholing invasive species, Kaechele’s work celebrates the abundance of pests and challenges the reader to problem-solve more creatively and with society-at-large in mind. This could take the form of art, poetic inspiration, or something mouth wateringly delicious.

And why not go further? The philosophical depth of this proposition is at the centre in the chapter on aliens (flip to the blue-coloured section and page 317 specifically for A Guide for Initiating Contact with Extraterrestrials by clairvoyant Angelika Whitecliff). This insight may seemprecarious at first but considering that homo sapiens are the most invasivespecies of all, we would benefit ourselves to reconsider how we approach ‘invasion’ and our impact before we jump to conclusions about cane toads and sea urchins. Hemlock, anyone?

A tip for a visit to MONA
Eat the Problem was published by the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), where Kirsha Kaechele is based. The book forthrightly reflects the subversive attitude and anti-establishment ethos of the museum. If making a visit to MONA, take a break to reflect upon human invasion and existence at The Source restaurant (located onsite). Here the dining tables have glass tabletops that encase objects curated by Kaechele, including some gilted vaginal bowls featured in Eat the Problem. Enjoy.

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View original publication on A Rich Life