Potato Research, 2010-2012

Jordan grew up in a rural environment in the southern Palatine region in Germany, where the potato is an important part of agriculture. The history of the potato interweaves with her identity and life story. The potato embodies not only a wide range of symbols, rules and rituals, but also functions as a traditional staple food of entire cultures. It is a nightshade plant and comes originally from the Incas. The Spanish introduced the potato to Europe in the second half of the 16th century. In Prussia, Friedrich II formally flogged his compatriots to accept it as staple food, as there they stubbornly refused recognizing the potato. The potato was slow to be adopted by distrustful European farmers, but soon enough it became an important food staple and field crop that played a major role in the European 19th century population boom. However, due to its lack of genetic diversity, and the very limited number of varieties initially introduced, the crop was vulnerable to disease. In 1845, a plant disease known as late blight spread rapidly through the poorer communities of western Ireland, resulting in the crop failures that led to the Great Irish Famine. Half of the Irish population got reduced; a million died of famine and up to two million immigrated to the USA.

Potatoes (2012) Photography of potato skin, copper, zinc Medium: C-Print Dimension: 29.7 x 42 cm Edition 1/7 + 2 AP Text: Pauline Doutreluingne Potatoes (photographs) were displayed at TU Berlin in the context of the exhibition project Clouded Lands. 30 Years Chernobyl curated by Food of War as part of IPB World Congress 2016. Publication: Studio Olafur Eliasson: The Kitchen, Phaidon Verlag, 2016 Potatoes (2012) Medium: Drawings Edition: 1/1 Material: Aquarelle on Paper Dimension: 60cm x 40 cm