The fork at LOD
– Does the Devil wield a Fork?
– No that’s a trident silly?
– What’s a trident?
– A type of fork.
LOD’s fifteen-year anniversary is all about the fork, and about our relationship with food. For this occasion we have invited all our apprentices, members and exhibitors, who have worked with us in the past, to participate in this joint exhibition.
The fork is a curious everyday item that arrived late in our culinary history, a companion for its predecessor, the spoon. Where did it come from? Who invented it? Possibly, someone with an itchy body part, unreachable by hand? Or an ogre who bit down on a spoon with his jagged teeth? Or maybe someone who just needed an implement to hold a piece of food while it was cut with a knife in the other hand.
The fork is more than a table to mouth food facilitator. Both seductive and menacing; it has its own particular danger. It has the ability to stab and puncture. It invites participation and never fails to engage.
Even in language the fork is associated with division and union. This juxtaposition is represented in the fork of a river, a tree, or a road. The phrase “to speak with a forked tongue” reveals its allegiance with mendacity and subterfuge. In short the fork is an unsolved mystery, embracing both good and evil.
Please join us, we promise an intriguing, weird and wonderful exhibition that is sure to entertain!
