IBC: Workshops at the Künstlerhaus – Our Potato Project-  Part I

We read ‚Der Kartoffelkönig‘ together. It is fiction, but it is based on the history of the potato. The potato appeared in Europe in the 16^th century. It came from South America, but it was not popular to eat because people did not realize that they had to cook it. If you eat potatoes raw, it is toxic and you feel sick.
In the 18^th century, eating potatoes became more popular in Europe.

The story of ‚Der Kartoffelkönig‘ tells us how König Fritz (König Friedrich der Große) wanted the poor people to grow potatoes and get used to eating potatoes so that they would have lots of energy to do more work for him. If you want to know the trick he played on the people, then you have to read the book.

After reading the story, we all made Potato Kings and Potato Queens using potatoes, yoghurt containers, wool, coloured napkins, cloth, felt, sticks and markers.

Over a period of 2 weeks, we took photos every day. Each day we could see changes. The potatoes started shrinking and shrivelling. In the third week, they looked really creepy and scary.

To be continued…