Supermarket Artist in Resident

Supermarket Collage image by Lynn Peemoeller 2019

Supermarkets are windows into our society. The neighborhood Supermarket plays a central role in the community. There is nothing quite like the modern-day hunting and gathering of food at the Cathedrals of Consumption we call Supermarkets to demonstrate the important rituals of public and communal life through which we are nourished, and our identity is both created and shaped. As a social-artist and food systems planner, I work with communities to explore the impact that food plays in our lives. I am fascinated with supermarkets and the way they act as cultural forums of our society and physical manifestations of desire, longing and promises. Over 200 hours were spent at the Greenleaf market in the Carr Square Neighborhood interacting with workers, community members, and invited guests. Time spent in front of the house and behind the scenes explored and cataloged the quotidian activities through interviews, photographs, and video. External aerial drone footage was gathered in attempt to visualize the boarders and impact of the physical site in a neighborhood dominated by the site in a neighborhood dominated by the legendary unscrupulous landowner Paul McKee. Funded by RAC 2019 Artist Grant.