Description
By Martin Llamedo, Argentina.
In ‘The Gourmets,’ we are thrown into Llamedo’s distressing vision of the state of our human race. In the form of a futuristic cooking TV show, two human-looking dolls, encrypted in an android translucent plastic body, are dressed up as chefs in cliché 1950s clothes.
It is unknown if they were once human, replaced by biomechanical parts, or if they were solely created to function as a stereotypical woman to please its audience. Llamedo hypothesizes: “The future awaits us with more biomechanical engineering; the flesh body is obsolete, the artificial existence shall prevail.”
This showcase exposes the irony, highlighting our species’ obsession with perfection and how we try to achieve it by slowly disappearing, one body part at a time.
With a minimalistic but kitsch touch, the idea of a populist television program and the western feminine stereotype of how a female cook should look and act is being mocked. On the table in front of them are complex dishes, effortlessly made by the dolls during the show, something only a few dedicated people can accomplish.
At the same time, the charm of this particular meal has its main course: a beautiful model who will be part of the feast. Cannibalism and self-destruction of a species, she almost seems to invite her demise, and a lack of empathy becomes evident. Is she aware of her destiny? Or will it happen unnoticed and painlessly?
Without the latest advances in artificial engineering, this prototype of the woman of tomorrow rejoices in being desired and eaten at the cost of life itself. Meanwhile, at ease with each other, the other cooks continue their cooking show: society swallows itself in its parasitic and despotic reality.