A thought-provoking publication that explores the worlds within our world.
Isolarii draws inspiration from the Renaissance genre of “island books” that each focused on a single idea with artworks, poems, and travel writings presented alongside cartographic depictions of islands. In this 21st-century version, the publication aims to “re-enchant the world” by highlighting the many worlds within it. “Each book is a ready-to-hand island, a space of exception unrestrained by conventional logic. Together, they are a growing archipelago. Islands from which to view the world anew,” explain editors Sebastian Clark and India Ennenga. Published every two months through a subscription, the series starts off with an island that sets the tone for the project. Salmon: A Red Herring is the creation of London-based Cooking Sections’ Daniel Fernández Pascual and Alon Schwabe.
The duo uses art, performance, video, and installation to explore the way the climate change and geopolitics affect food. Salmon: A Red Herring continues the duo’s Climavore project and focuses on the impact of industrial salmon farming on the environment. While printed on rosy pages, the texts tell a dark story. Chemical dyes and food colorants used in the manufacturing process turn the grey flesh of the farmed salmon into the familiar pink hue in order to mimic the color of wild fish. The book also features other stories that uncover the effects of artificial chemical interventions on the marine environment.
This first island book also features forewords by Hannah Landecker, Bruno Latour, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and David Zilber. If you’re in London, you can also see the Salmon: A Red Herring in Tate Britain’s Art Now series. The free show opens on 27 November 2020 and runs until 28 February 2021. Photographs© Isolarii, Cooking Sections.
