Food art - Art food ?

Last Tuesday a friend invited us to join a „art-party“ on the following weekend in yokohama. Just 2000 yen for a full course menu including drinks, we thought: wow! and applied via mail to join. On the following Saturday we were there, first we went to the exhibition on food art in the BANKART 1929 Museum which was really cool. After that, we went to see the friends exhibition of “cookie architecture” in a café. Both the café and the “cookie architecture” was very nice, we got free coffee, too. As it got later, we went to the BANKART Studio to participate in the “art-party” whatever that was. At the entrance we were greeted by a very cool broccoli installation.
Inside the gallery, around 20 people were sitting around a large table, chatting. On the guest list were only two non Japanese names, our names. O.K.
The event was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. it was still a little early, so we looked around for a while asking ourselves what was going to happen. Shortly after 7 one of the staff members announced that it was going to start soon, we should gather in front of a door which was soon opened. We entered a almost completely dark upward leading staircase. Soft illumination made the steps barely visible. The floor above was completely dark, except for dimmed lamps in the distance, hanging above a long table with 30 lights pointing to 30 plates. Everybody was whispering and carefully searching their way to a seat. We went around the table and sat down. The only thing which we could see besides the plates was the pale frame of the door through which we just had entered. The scene reminded me a little of the movie “eyes wide shut”. An eloquent audience sitting in complete darkness in front of an empty plate. I was prepared for anything, but after all this was Japan, so we were pretty safe, I assumed.
A male voice announced, that the dinner was about to start, we should remain silent and switch of our mobile phones. Behind me, a curtain moved and people entered the room, silently placing a glass containing a liquid on the right side of each ones plate. On some kind of signal everybody took a sip, ah its umeshu soda, how nice I thought. Again the curtain was rustling, the first course. A square piece of cardboard, on top a single mini-mini daikon. It was kind of funny, seeing everybody trying to see what it was. The only way of finding out was to taste it. After all had finished eating the first cardboard square was removed. In short time, a new one appeared on each ones plate. Broccoli with miso? Uttered Oishii! was coming from all sides. In rapid turns empty papers were exchanged with new food: Onion? Corn with curry sauce, tomato? No- egg with miso! Fern, something interesting (fish?), shrimp with avocado sauce (mmh!) sushi, and another mini daikon. After this first round of food, the light was dimmed until it was completely dark. We heard people walking around us, suddenly a flash of light. For the fraction of a second, I could see that we were sitting in a warehouse. Then another flash, a flash of a camera. The flash of light revealed fluorescent paint, which had been splashed on the walls before. No one spoke, it was a really cool moment.
After the flash break, the food continued. First red wine was served, than the paper plates continued. Unfortunately, the food was not so delicious as before, octopus legs, entrails or guts? which I at first did not recognize and therefore ate partially, luckily there was enough wine… then some more meat came, I did not touch it, followed by fruits, a tiny cake. The last paper came empty and again the light was switched off. Finally coffee was served in a small cup.
After all had finished, we groped back to the pale doorframe and went downstairs returning into the real world.

Strange things happen in Japan, but that’s why we are here…