THE BREAD: SIEVE

Catarina Almeida / Dora Ladeiro / Inês Lopes / Inês Martins / Leonor Carboila / Marco Oliveira

Planting and caring for the cereal, kneading it and baking it in the oven. For centuries, this was how bread was produced in Portugal, guaranteeing the taste, texture and appearance of this basic food. The traditional sieve, which sifted the grain through its mesh, symbolises the traditions and customs related to artisanal bread making. These days, bread is produced with industrial, refined flour. In this riddle, the mesh has a gap all the way around. Since today the flour is already refined, the result is the same if the flour passes through the mesh or falls through the gap. This useless sieve reminds us of this forgotten tradition and of the disappearance of traditional bread. The laser-engraved phrase ‘No riddling’ refers to the current situation with culture, knowledge and traditional practices, and carries the weight of the depreciation of tangible and intangible culture. The project aims to reinstate this object and all the culture connected to it.