Organ Feast
zilin_chennn zoezilinchen@gmail.com

“The five organs are set to the five elements, 
and their nourishment is as their nature. Food doth temper their essence and giveth life unto their spirit.”
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon

Overview
Organ Feast is an experimental art project centered on expanding the boundaries of human dietary structures. By reexamining the cultural and nutritional value of animal organs, it explores potential responses to future food crises. The project draws inspiration from the traditional theory of "restoring shape with shape" found in The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon and the "animal empowerment rituals" of Buryat shamanic culture. Combining speculative design with narrative art, it constructs a mysticism-infused religious ritual framework. Within this narrative, humans consume animal organs to gain corresponding spiritual powers, while rediscovering the unique significance of organs in nutrition, cultural symbolism, and belief systems.

Through speculative design, Organ Feast envisions a future society facing food scarcity. In this scenario, animal organs are no longer marginalized as overlooked byproducts but are elevated to core elements imbued with both symbolic and functional value. As a form of "future food," organs not only meet fundamental survival needs but also carry profound cultural and religious meaning.





Research Description
The current rate of global resource consumption has far exceeded the Earth’s capacity for regeneration, and population growth continues to exacerbate this trend (The Global Report on Food Crises 2022). Overpopulation and food crises are likely to become inevitable dual challenges for future human societies. These pressing issues compel us to reexamine existing dietary structures and actively seek more sustainable solutions.

Offal
Offal, long regarded as a low-grade food or an unmanageable by-product of animal processing, is now being reevaluated for its potential. According to the FAO Global Food Losses and Food Waste (2011) report, approximately 30% of animal by-products, including offal, fail to enter consumer markets annually and are discarded, leading to significant waste.

This phenomenon is primarily rooted in the lack of cultural acceptance of offal in many countries. In Western societies, offal is often dismissed as “garbage food,” a perception shaped by the industrialized food system. As highlighted in Cultural Anthropology, consumers tend to favor clean, easily processed cuts of muscle meat while shunning offal for its complex appearance, strong odors, and cooking challenges. This bias is not confined to the West; it is a globally pervasive attitude that results in the widespread neglect and waste of offal.Ironically, against the backdrop of global food crises and its spiritual significance in various traditions, the neglect of offal becomes all the more striking. Offal not only boasts exceptional nutritional value but also holds significant untapped potential.

Image Title: Pie Chart of Animal By-Product Waste Proportion
Credit:Based on data from the FAO Global Food Losses and Food Waste (2011) report
Nutritional Perspective
Scientific research reveals that animal offal, such as liver, kidneys, and heart, is rich in iron, zinc, vitamins A and B12—nutrients essential to human health. According to the FAO Edible Insects: Future Prospects for Food and Feed Security (2013) report, these nutrients are often deficient in the diets of many impoverished regions worldwide. Furthermore, offal has a high protein density and relatively low fat content, making it an efficient and sustainable source of nutrition.

Cultural and Spiritual Perspective
Cultural and religious traditions provide abundant references for the use of offal. The principle of “you are what you eat” in Huangdi Neijing and the animal empowerment rituals of Buryat shamanism illustrate how offal is more than food—it symbolizes the replenishment of human deficiencies. Additionally, in Tibetan sky burial rites and the entrail divination practices of Mesopotamia and Ancient Rome, offal is revered as a medium for communication with nature and divine forces, representing a connection between humanity, nature, and the supernatural.

As food waste escalates and global food crises loom, offal emerges as a meaningful and nutrient-rich dietary option with the potential to broaden human diets. By changing public perceptions, offal can reduce waste while providing a more sustainable source of nutrition. In a future where population and resource pressures continue to mount, reevaluating the value of offal may offer a viable pathway to addressing global food challenges.




PurposeUsing situational narratives, this project decontextualizes everyday dietary behaviors and repositions them within a unique, abstract, and mythological framework. The aim is to challenge the current societal "moral" framework surrounding food and question biases inherent in contemporary dietary practices. By inviting the audience into a speculative scenario of a future global food crisis, the project seeks to encourage those who reject organ-based foods to reconsider their perceptions and attitudes toward animal organs. It challenges cultural prejudices and offers a solution-oriented perspective rooted in traditional Chinese medicine's belief systems to address future food crises.








Implementation
By integrating sculpture and experimental film, Organ Feast aims to reshape the cultural and spiritual significance of offal, exploring its multifaceted value as both a food source and a symbol of life. Through artistic methods and narrative design, the project invites audiences to confront biases in dietary culture and envision transformative possibilities for future food systems.
SculptureThe project envisions a future where advancements in biotechnology validate and develop the traditional Chinese principle of “restoring shape with shape” asserting that consuming organs resembling those of the human body can enhance specific physiological functions. Against this backdrop, the project draws from mystical cultural perspectives to conceptually merge organs from different species, creating three symbolic organ models that explore the potential of food as a source of power.









Material:
Model version: clay, acrylic, wool
Edible version: flipping sugar, edible coloringReproductive Organ

Composed of a pig’s udder and immature chicken eggs, this organ model reflects the significance of these ingredients in Chinese dietary culture as symbols of fertility and vitality. The artistic design emphasizes their unique role as icons of reproductive strength.







Strength Organ

This model combines a bear’s mouth and an oyster. The bear’s mouth symbolizes bravery and physical strength, while the oyster evokes connotations of vitality and masculinity. Together, they create an implicit representation of the source of strength.







Perception Organ

Composed of antlers and a monkey’s brain, this organ model highlights antlers as symbols of courage and heightened perception, while the monkey’s brain signifies wisdom. This combination aims to represent the potential for enhanced sensory and cognitive abilities.




Experimental Film
The film segment draws inspiration from shamanic rituals to explore how spiritual power is channeled into the material world through ceremonial practices, achieving symbolic healing effects. Referencing ancient hunting and feasting rituals, the film showcases how shamans perform rituals to endow organs with mystical power.

Ritual Structure Design

1. Acknowledging the Presence of Deities: Invoking divine attention through specific gestures and symbols.
   
2. Offering Prayers: Blessing the organs before consumption and articulating the devotees’ wishes to the divine.
   
3. Consumption: Participants ceremoniously consume the organs, symbolizing the process of acquiring strength.
   
4. Expression of Gratitude: Thanking the divine and nature, marking the conclusion of the ritual.

The film reenacts these ritualistic stages, illustrating how shamans channel power through the three symbolic organs to spiritually empower and uplift their followers.











Special Thanks
Dr Carolina Ramirez-Figueroa 
Angus Main
Shengqi Luo
Ruishan Ge
Fangsheng Kong
Kelly

Personal Tutor
Field Tutor
Collaborator / Actor
Actress
Actor
Actress