Final Abs?

Food provides a full sensorial experience, which can serve as a new form of Anzac memorialisation to engage and generate empathy within young New Zealanders.

Anzac Day is central to New Zealand’s cultural collective memory. However, a survey I conducted showed that 66% of youth aged 17-25 felt removed from the war, citing an association with boredom (through teachings at schools) and a lack of personal connection as leading causes.

My investigation into present forms of Anzac memorialisation revealed the dominance of one-way, static communication. This traditional model is ineffective as audiences have developed immunity from its repetitive and inflexible nature (Gobé, 2001). With a strong focus on visual and aural sensory experiences, previous Anzac memorials have neglected the strengths of the ‘forgotten senses’ of touch, taste, and smell in communication and memory creation (Kavanagh, 2000).

Food is a commonality that can link cultures and generations. Food also contains narratives and cultural identities which are passed on through engagement with our five senses (Guptil, Copelton & Lucal, 2013).

I began my design response by replicating the monotonous diets of the Anzac soldiers. There was a high level of interest in this experiment as it provided a different angle to the Anzac story. Furthermore, it provided a personalised experience by inviting the audience to generate their own meaning.

Other experiments were conducted by separating the senses and elements into smell, taste, touch and time to try to best simulate the soldiers’ experiences.

I propose to create a palatable memorial experience as a new form of Anzac commemoration. By utilising food, my project can encourage disconnected youth to contribute to the cultural collective memory of Anzac Day.