At first I wondered who was cooking so early in the morning. The smell that filled my room was very similar to onions. When it suddenly turned much sweeter I realised the smell was coming from the leaves I was working with. Rolling on the ink had crushed them a little, releasing their scent.
Cooking with what they find locally, restaurant De Nieuwe Winkel makes unique dishes with seemingly ordinary plants. Going into this project I was aware of this, but still the unexpected smells took me by surprise.
In this project I have been working closely with Asyouwere. They took the handprinted leaves and fitted them to the Restaurant as De Nieuwe Winkel does with their dishes.
Printing the leaves
Every leaf has different textures, some of them have hair others are a bit oily. Printing them forces me to change the way I work with every one. Drying or hammering, has been used as a technique to create a smoother surface, but it will have effect on the leaves look. To capture more original detail of the leaves I only printed fresh ones. I printed both sides of the leaves. Many of the actually have more characteristics on the bottom side, giving stronger lines. The depth between the veins and the rest of the leave, make sure the print is not a solid black. The air that fills the print makes for a beautiful leaf pattern.
Project:De Nieuwe WinkelClient:De Nieuwe winkelYear:2019