Maryam Jafri's 'Mouthfeel' at Gasworks explores food industry politics through film and installation

Pakistani-American artist Maryam Jafri presents her first UK solo exhibition at Gasworks, organized alongside Delfina Foundation's four-year food politics program. The show features 'Product Recall: An Index of Innovation' (2014), displaying images of failed industrial food products alongside manufacturing histories. Central to the exhibition is Jafri's short film 'Mouthfeel' (2014), depicting a married couple employed by a multinational food corporation. The wife, portrayed by Jafri as a food scientist, discovers a health hazard in a new compound while her husband, a brand manager, attempts concealment. Their dialogue critiques capitalist systems, workplace gender discrimination, globalization, and ethical compromises. The film incorporates actual commercials from Pantene and Coca-Cola originally broadcast in India, Angola, and Colombia, creating 'commercial breaks' that reference social telenovelas. This Latin American television format blends drama with social commentary, with Western adaptations including Chipotle's 'Farmed and Dangerous' satirical series about petroleum-based livestock nutrition. Jafri's work avoids simplistic East-West dichotomies by situating her narrative within fluid global economic contexts. The exhibition examines multinational food corporations, mass production ethics, and branding politics through industrial food artifacts and cinematic critique.