To harvest is to resist

What we don’t always realize is that the first moment of food waste happens in the fields - when perfectly edible fruits and vegetables are discarded for not meeting aesthetic standards: the “ugly” produce. We’ve all seen them: irregular, bumpy, with unexpected shapes. Espigoladors seeks to fight this tendency by reclaiming the practice of “gleaning” ("espigolar" in Catalan). Historically, gleaners were people - often from lower social classes - who would go through the fields post-harvest, collecting the leftover crops. It might sound like a practice from another time, but the waste still happens, and Espigoladors brings back this core idea, in order to make full use of our food resources and ensure everyone has access to healthy, nutritious food.

The exhibition at Palau Robert had a two-fold focus: first, to raise awareness about gleaning as a way to fight food waste; and second, to reflect more broadly on the agri-food supply chain and ask how citizens can reclaim agency within it. As such, the exhibition featured a photojournalistic portion with data, images, and audiovisuals from different stages of the food chain, from tomato and bean gleaning to fruit transport logistics. Our installation, as the final piece, was interactive, keeping with the visual theme of gleaning and agriculture, but shifting the focus to individual habits and domestic practices.

When Espigoladors invited us to contribute, the key idea was to build an interaction that would help visitors reflect on the small, daily actions they take that impact food waste — and to collect data about those actions. The space, divided and delimited by the plastic green crates Espigoladors use for gleaning, marked the end of the visitor journey. The goal: to bring a sense of agency to the issue. If we can’t all go to the fields and collect leftover crops, we can still think about the “domestic” equivalent: which are the micro-actions we can take at home.

The installation was built into its own enclosed space within the exhibition, bordered by three walls. It had two main interfaces: a large projection wall displaying the visuals of the collective experience, and an iPad at the center, where the interaction happened and visitors were invited to answer a questionnaire about their food-waste-related habits.

At the end, a final question would appear on screen:

“Què faràs tu per no llençar menjar?”

“What will you do to avoid wasting food?”

This prompted visitors to reflect on their personal habits, linking their response to the entire exhibition experience and nudging them toward change. Visitors then recorded their answer on the iPad — by voice — and, through an AI-powered tool, their words were transformed into a short poem, as a small, lyrical ritual to give value to everyday gestures. The poetic output gave their actions weight and voice — turning commitment into expression.

We designed every step of the installation, from the overall narrative to the visuals and space. By carefully generating and curating high-resolution images of “imperfect” fruits and vegetables, presenting them as surreal, nearly mythological specimens, we sought to construct a dreamier counterpart to the act of gleaning, as a way to match the poetic tone of the generated verses.

By the end of the exhibition, Espigoladors had collected data from nearly 700 visitors — providing them with insights, ideas, and patterns for their ongoing work.
 

Data Impact: 

• 446 poems generated in Catalan
• 243 poems generated in Spanish

• 47% of people polled reported avoiding the purchase of certain produce which they found "ugly” or overripe
• 26% of people said they throw food away at least once a week
• 69% of people said they see food waste as a very serious problem that needs to be addressed urgently