Romina De Novellis Uses Food to Subvert Patriarchal Rituals

Romina De Novellis (Naples, 1982) is a performer who deconstructs Mediterranean cultural rituals she sees as patriarchal. Food is central to her work because meals and their rules mirror a male-dominated society; by rewriting these rites, she envisions an eco-feminist future. In her performance "Inferno" at the 2017 Venice Biennale, she ingested and expelled watermelon while the audience ate alongside her. For "Bella Ciao" (2016, Alghero), she emerged from a fountain covered in pasta, algae, and hair, which the public consumed. Her latest project, "The Last Supper," concluded the DOMUS residency she organized in Puglia. Set among dead olive trees, it featured a vegan diet and a climactic moment where she revealed her history of domestic violence, aiming to digest trauma collectively. De Novellis is vegan and uses food to challenge the Judeo-Christian tradition where women cook and men are served. She reenacts rural Southern Italian customs, such as the killing of eels by women, transforming them into acts of liberation. Her work is produced by Kreemart in collaboration with Galleria Alberta Pane.