M.O.L.D. Bioindicator Incubation Update - Angels Gate

Bioindicator #46

MDFS Milk and Dairy Food Safety

M - Ezekiel organic sprouted wheat
D - Van de Camps wheat bread
F - Ralph's Bakery San Francisco Sourdough
S - Cinnabon Raisin bread 

Bioindicator #41

CFS California Food Safety

C - Ezekiel organic sprouted wheat
F - Weber's enriched white bread
S - Cinnabon Raisin bread 

Bioindicator #33

EQC Egg Quality Control 

E - Van de Camps wheat bread

Q - Ralph's Bakery San Francisco Sourdough
C - Weber's enriched white bread

Bioindicators are  living species used to monitor the health of an environment or ecosystem. They are any biological species or group of species whose function, population, or status can be used to determine ecosystem or environmental integrity. Such organisms are monitored for changes (biochemical, physiological, or behavioral) that may indicate a problem within their ecosystem. Bioindicators can tell us about the cumulative effects of different pollutants in the ecosystem and about how long a problem may have been present, which physical and chemical testing cannot.

M.O.L.D. workshop participants will build their own bioindicators using common airborne mold to assess the quality of various bread samples. FS believes that food with less additives, preservatives, and/or related genetic modification will demonstrate more accelerated mold growth. 

The food hosts for this experiment will be various breads ranging from certified organic to highly processed. Workshop participants will choose from 110 food-related government agencies for the subject of their bioindicator. The initials from the chosen government agency will be surgically carved out of various bread samples. Each participant will create two identical bioindicators, one to remain in the installation and the other to be taken by participant.

M.O.L.D. | An Informational Film

M.O.L.D. Documentation Video

M.O.L.D. Photos by Devon Tsuno

M.O.L.D. at Angels Gate | Photos by Patrick Miller

M.O.L.D. Press Release

M.O.L.D. Bioindicator, Concept Image, 2009

M.O.L.D. by Finishing School

Performance: Sunday, May 3, 2009 at 12-4pm

Exhibition Dates: May 3 - June 14, 2009

Angels Gate Cultural Center
3601 S. Gaffey St. San Pedro, CA
3105190936
www.angelsgateart.org
info@angelsgateart.org

M.O.L.D. Patch, Edition of 100, 2009

About the Project

M.O.L.D. is a hot zone-themed wet lab and workshop that investigates the science, politics, and culture of food decomposition. The audience is invited to participate in various experiments and build their own amateur bioindicators (living species used to monitor the health of an environment or ecosystem) to assess food quality and safety. According to Finishing School, food molds have an anecdotal value in determining the quality of their hosts by demonstrating the presence of decay-fighting preservatives, additives, and genetic engineering. The goal of the installation is to engage participants in a critical experience about the quality and safety of the food we consume.

Students from El Camino College will assist the artists with the project. This project is generously funded by The James Irvine Foundation, Epson America, The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Getty Foundation, The California Community Foundation, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.

M.O.L.D. Operational Tactics, Sign, 2009

About Finishing School

Formed in late 2001, Finishing School is a collective identity that explores art, design, and technology through interventions that conflate praxis, play, and activism. Finishing School attempts to demystify the experience of cultural production and engage viewers through various participatory models. Finishing School and their work has been presented extensively both nationally and internationally.

Finishing School was recently the inaugural participants in MOCA's Engagement Party, an ongoing "artists residency" program at MOCA in Los Angeles. Other current projects include Little Pharma, which investigates alternative medicines and lifestyles as a viable antidote to some of the drug industry's pathologies. Little Pharma consists of a series of workshops, roundtable meetings, lectures, weblog, community medicinal garden, and drug themed bike ride. Past projects include Public Interaction Objects (2006), a series of low-tech participatory objects such as meet/greet, a semi-autonomous drone designed to move through public spaces and greet individuals with multilingual salutations representing the six official languages of the United Nations; The Patriot Library (2003), a working library that provides access to books, periodicals, and other media considered "dangerous" by the United States government; and Saturday School (2001), a temporary, nomadic teaching institution offering multidisciplinary classes that dissect, question, and illuminate various aspects of everyday life.

M.O.L.D. Installation Gear, 2009

The Future Of Food