The Empire Remains is a long-term project by Cooking Sections that explores the imaginaries that were set up by the British Empire to promote food trade between home and overseas territories. The project attests how global desire, geopolitics, power and food networks have evolved from the beginning of the 20th century until today. In order to understand the making of natures and economic landscapes, such as the “tropical” or the “middle east”, it traces rum, sugar, tobacco, chocolate, “exotic” fruits, and spices throughout the world.

In 2016 Cooking Sections will open The Empire Remains Shop in London. Taking the original Empire Shops as a reference, the Empire Remains Shop will function as a research-store hosting a public programme of exhibitions, installations, performances, screenings, tastings and events. These new, specially conceived interventions will employ food as a tool to assemble new geographies, borders, sovereignty, global networks and economic alliances. At the same time, it will explore spatial approaches to origin, destination and environmental trade between the present and future of our postcolonial planet. The visitor will be invited to either taste edible maps, consume products, or participate of the ongoing conversations that will constantly change throughout the life of The Empire Remains Shop.

Following their 6 weeks residency in Artport Cooking Sections invites visitors to discuss together some of the work and projects they have worked on while...