Corona food habits

2020 was a year like no other – the stories of this lockdown and how it radically impacted our daily lives will certainly be told for a long time to come. When curfew, assembly bans and home office became reality, food and eating as activity quickly advanced to the highlight of the day.

It has been over a year since the first lockdown was called out. On this occasion the designers Brini Fetz and Lisa Langmantel took a closer look at last year’s meal plans. “For our work as designers in the area of food it is crucial to constantly follow up on social and Cultural trends. When social media literally got flooded by sourdough and banana bread recipes, we were wondering how the circumstances of the lockdown has changed our food preferences and eating habits.”

Through their research they were able to observe a number of phenomena. As most social activities got cancelled, many of us enjoyed some extra time especially in the beginning of the lockdown. This newfound spare time often got used to try out complex recipes – status updates of Instagram, Whatsapp and co. were conquered by sourdough pictures in no time. Home cooking generally increased substantially over the lockdown periods. Pasta was the food that thereby landed on our plates most often – in a survey on the designers’ Instagram accounts, Italian pasta dishes were voted as the number one go-to meal during lockdown.

Others spent their extra time on doing sports, working out a balanced diet and introducing healthy habits in their daily lives.

On the quest for foods of high quality and in solidarity with local producers the awareness for fresh, regional products increased.

For many of us making food several times a day has also been a challenge. Way too often particularly breakfast or lunch got replaced by unhealthy snacks. Also, the consumption of take away food increased considerably – a substitute for cancelled restaurant visits and welcome variation to the lockdown meal plan.

One of the most emblematic impacts of the lockdown and shutdown of social activities was most certainly virtual drinking. Who would have thought just a year ago that soon we will only be able to clink glasses through a screen?

These observations were visualised in a series of eight images, captured by Austrian-based photographer Angela Lamprecht. Monochrome colours and repetition were consciously used in the styling of the images – reflecting repetitive routines and the monotony of the days during the lockdown.

We propose to showcase prints of the 8 photographs in a1 size. If possible, we would like to hang them in continuity on a wall. Attached will also be a text explaining the findings and inspiration behind the imagery.

A designer from hej studio will be present at the exhibition to talk about the research and thoughts leading up to the exhibition.