For Trash Bash 2023, Eugenio Salas (Mexican, 1976) stages Communal Griddle (Composition #7) –a participatory, process-based art project informed by environmental justice that engages community leaders, immigrant laborers, and cooks to modify and activate a fire-powered cooking sculpture made of construction waste. The project is informed by his experience growing up in Mexico, where scarcity has necessitated an ethos of improvisation.
“At some point, everyone performs being an architect and cook, repurposing scrap metal to fabricate improvised cooking appliances for special occasions.” The intention of the Communal Griddle is to establish links between stakeholders across the food system to come up with sustainability solutions rooted in the communities that have historically been employed as cheap labor in our food system.
The Communal Griddle was gestated in 2020 during Salas residency at RAIR and is being activated at six public events in 2023 in urban gardens across the city. Each activation of the sculpture takes on a unique form, influenced by collaborators' contributions, available ingredients/materials, and the specific spaces Salas engages with. For this occasion, the menu is the result of a collaboration with chef Juan Placencia of Brazas BBQ Chicken and features upcycled food ingredients donated by Sharing Excess and Crème Brule, as well as products from local artisans, South Philly Barbacoa and Marco’s Fish Market.