At the age of 14, Margherita received a diagnosis indicating allergies to all vegetables and fruits, both in their raw and cooked forms. Unfortunately, the scientific community has not witnessed significant advancements on this issue since that time.

The art project, titled ‘Evolving Sensitivities,’ serves as a means to address the questions: What precisely triggers these allergies and why?

This project involves extensive research that commences by comprehending her diagnosis and its associated symptoms.

In practical terms, to identify what specific elements trigger her allergies, Margherita has embarked on a research journey that involves questioning and altering the diagnostic methodology. She has employed fermentation and various cooking techniques as investigative tools. Through self-testing, she has observed distinct reactions resulting from different food processes.

Evolution explains allergies as the human immune system’s defense mechanism against external toxins, so how is it possible that the food that should make us healthy has been targeted by the immune system as a toxin?

Exploring the ‘why’ behind these allergies demanded broadening the scope of diagnosis to acquire a comprehensive narrative originating from within the interconnected systems of the body. This also entails delving into a multidimensional space encompassing historical, ecological, and narrative factors, as well as dynamics of power beyond the individual body.

Although this investigation hasn’t yielded definitive answers yet, it has grown into an ongoing and expansive network of narratives that converge immunology, microbiology, and evolution.

For this project, Margherita created ‘Digestors,’ glass stomach vessels with the purpose of containing fermented food. Highlighting how this research made her rely on cooking methodologies that predigest and break down the food for her. Moved this process outside of the body quite literally. 

Project publication on medical technology magazine MT-Integraal (dutch): link here.

This project was supported by Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst as part of the 3Package Deal BioArt coalition in collaboration with Waag, Mediamatic and Toby Kiers (VU).

Photographer and video maker: Anne Lakeman.