[PICNIC INDOOR|室内野餐]

This work is based on HE+HU’s study on dining behaviors in a special social context during the museum opening. They tried to create a different reception in the opening reception, which transformed a reception into an independent artwork that capable of expressing their social commentaries. 

The concept comes from the scenario of families and friends sitting on the lawn and picking the wild fruits, enjoying a delicious picnic and gorgeous sunshine. However, what if this food event occurred in the museum or gallery during the opening reception? This event design piece attempts to challenge social behavior in the public environment. HE+HU moved the typical outdoor scene indoor, using man-made materials, nylon, to recreate abstract trees and grass, and combining man-made fruits, which was chocolates, to regenerate a completely “unnatural” indoor landscape. 

Picnic Indoor questions whether the visitors in suit and tie or dress would behave awkwardly or unformally like squatting down or sitting on the floor in the museum due to food. The audience probably will discover new perspectives to appreciate the other art pieces in the museum after interacting with this piece.

In the reception, dressed-up viewers had different reactions to the work. Some people were not very self-conscious about their images, bending over or squatting down to pick up the chocolates from the artificial forest; while some people felt very uncomfortable and walked away even even though they were starving; some other people, however, stood aside or asked other participants to hand over the food to them. During this process, a simple design work became a spontaneous performance art that reflects about people’s behaviors, desires and truth.