Referencing the gastronomic treatise meditation outlined by Brillat-Savarin in The Physiology of Taste, Attempting to Capture Taste is an ongoing body of work that investigates how and why we taste. Brillat-Savarin describes the various invented movements of the tongue that capture taste: Spication, Rotation, and Verrition. These deconstructed and detailed actions, presented not unlike dance instructions, guide one in how to properly “taste.” It is through these precise descriptions that Reynolds investigates the very notion of taste, both literally and metaphorically. In his performances and resulting paintings Reynolds used pure squid ink to record the three separate movements of the tongue in three minute segments on a piece of paper. An Umami itself, the squid ink engorges the tongue, physiologically allowing its taste receptors to receive more information and subsequently creating an enhanced tasting experience. Attempting to Capture Taste touches on the biological as well as the contemporary social relevance of the historical Brillat-Savarin text.
Attempting to Capture Taste (Spication, Rotation, Verrition)
Performance (Squid ink applied by tongue on paper)
Duration 9:54 minutes
Jaus Gallery, West Los Angeles, CA. November 10th, 2012
Video Courtesy of Sean Flaherty