Soft Lines: moving with taste
Soft Lines: moving with taste explores how our immediate surroundings make us feel and the potential for carefully curated ice cream flavours can capture and hold the idea of a landscape.
Inspired by the River Dee which hugs Banchory, the surrounding woodlands and moss carpets, Soft Lines: moving with taste is an edible exploration commissioned by The Barn and specially created for Phosphorescence festival, a weekend of arts activities at the Barn all connected by arrangement, movement and dance.
Blending the ideas of choreography, landscape and multi-sensory exploration, nostalgic and mnemonic experiences were translated into ice cream flavours that were offered for participants to taste. The ice cream menu, consisting of six parts, was structured around the vertical idea of falling. In the participatory performances the audience were invited to follow the falling of a pine needle all the way from the tree tops to the river bed using their senses of vision, taste, smell and touch.
PART I
Wind (oak moss and coal)
The first part starts at the highest point on the vertical line of falling. The audience were given a rock from the banks of River Dee on which a hot coal was placed. To create a fragrant smoke they were also given a twig with oak moss which abundantly grows on the trees around Scotland. This lichen was foraged close to the festival site and upon landing on hot coal released a smoke which carried an earthy aroma.
PART II
Tree heads (pine needles and juniper berries)
Second part is dedicated to pine trees, which, I find very choreographic - highly adaptable, they bend in the direction of wind to avoid breaking.
Freshly churned pine needle and juniper berry (interestingly juniper berries are in fact cones) sorbet. A conventional ice cream cone was replaced with pine needle twigs, tightened together to accommodate a pine needle sorbet in the middle, allowing the audience to dip their noses into pine needle scent and experience a light brushing on their face whilst exploring the taste.
PART III
Tree bodies (chaga and burnt crab apple)
In the third part the falling continues down pass the tree trunks. The ice cream is flavoured with chaga mushroom which grows on the tree trunks and has mild, earthy, vanilla like taste. The ice lollies were served on a wooden stick which was smoked with tree bark and to finished with coating of burnt crab apple powder.
PART IV
Forrest floor (sorrel and nettle)
Finally the pine needle lands on the moss. Having a pine tree outside my house I noticed that pine needles and moss have their own relationship - fallen pine needles on the ground sustain the rain water so after a while these spots get covered in moss.
The sorrel sorbet was served on the bed of sugar syrup coated pine needles (used in PART II for the sorbet making) and dusted with nettle powder.
PART V
Earth's stomach (dandelion, beetroot and curly dock)
The fifth part is all about soil. Pine needles create a protective layer that insulates plants, keeps the ground moist and enriches the soil.
The ice cream was made from dandelion roots and beetroot powder. Sitting on elderberry rhizomatic branches (which if held on a palm would gently tickle) and toasted curly dock seeds.
PART VI
River roe (sea buckthorn and clay )
The last part takes us back to the river bank. The same rocks which were used for the Part I were 'repaired' with clay (I chose rocks that looked like they are missing a piece). I made a small dent with my thumb in the clay filling to place a tiny pearl of sorbet. Made from sea buckthorn berries which grow by the water this sorbet had a punchy sour and fresh flavour. The colour reminded me of salmon roe, which take over the river Dee from February until October each year.
Very grateful to Jassy Earl, Jeni Reid and Dr Amanda Thompson for supplying me with these beautiful images.