WTFood: Interview with artist Bernat Cuni
Barcelona native Bernat Cuni is one of the artists selected to work on a prototype during Hungry EcoCities’ first Open Call. Hungry EcoCities is an innovative initiative aimed at reimagining urban food systems through art, technology, and community engagement. By bringing together creative minds and experts, the project seeks to address the complexities and challenges of sustainable food production and consumption in urban environments.
For our Inside Out series, we asked Bernat how his project came about and what his expectations are, now that the prototype is finished. The final result was recently presented in Rotterdam at Het Nieuwe Instituut.
Bernat, how did you become involved in Hungry EcoCities?
Well, I am originally a product designer, but I soon discovered that I didn’t want to dedicate my career to only making stuff. I therefore switched to digital product design and fabrication. For me, this means of production was kind of giving back to the people. It’s accessible, so everybody can do it. From there, I moved to design systems because I wanted to create parameters instead of products. It also gave me the opportunity to explore technologies in a creative way, being intentionally exploratory and not focused only on ROI.
The link to Hungry EcoCities is that I was both bothered and very curious about the food system. In people’s minds, the food system is something completely different than it actually is. Trust has gone, and doubts and constant disappointments are increasing every day.
I agree with the people who say that, in general, we’ve lost the connection to our food, or at least, how our food is produced. At the same time, I don’t believe that we should go back to growing our own food, like subsistence farmers. You have to be realistic. We also don’t make our clothes anymore, nor do we build our own computers.
Getting selected to participate in this call for Hungry EcoCities gave me the opportunity to see behind the food system.
What is WTFood all about?
My vision or aim was clear from the beginning: I wanted to make something visual that triggers curiosity. I wanted my project to be a system that turns curiosity about food into action. I see glitches in the system, and I would like my project to be like a tool to improve it.
I reckon that my project is aimed at people like me, people that feel something is wrong with our food system, but who also want to do something about it.
My project or prototype is now a tool to see the different layers of the food system from different angles/players. I’ve developed five ‘players’ (or stakeholders, such as industrial growers, supermarket managers, farmers, etc.). I’ve selected five socio-economic issues, and I’ve used AI for engagement or to start a conversation about the food system.
What was the design process like?
Good question! The process included, at first, morphing the images and deciding how to tell the story. That involved lots of parameter tweaking and flow design because I wanted to bring back the story in images instead of only words. After that, users should receive actionable links.
WTFood: The prototype
What will be your next step regarding this prototype?
I’d like to proceed to a use case scenario where the prototype would be used by entities that have a community or work with followers so it can be used as a promotional tool or as an instrument to create more engagement.
In the end, of course, I’d love to see it developed into a solid and working tool, e.g., in collaboration with a supermarket that focuses on fair trade and storytelling. At the same time, it brings out the activist in me. I’d like the prototype to be a useful tool to prevent greenwashing or food washing, to give a voice to people who usually cannot speak.
More information and insights about WTFood and the design process can be found on food.cunicode.com.
More about Hungry EcoCities
Hungry EcoCities aims at exploring one of the most pressing challenges of our times: the need for a more healthy, sustainable, responsible, and affordable agri-food system for all.
In Hungry EcoCities, studios, universities, growers, and agricultural specialists team up with, artists and creative thinkers to come up with new ideas for the future food system. Hungry EcoCities hosts up to 20 S+T+ARTS residencies and works towards defining, designing, and developing AI-enabled responsible, art-driven solutions for the end-users in the agri-food industries.
The Hungry EcoCities project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement 101069990.