SALMON PANTONE COLLECTION

the food that you eat, the food that you dress

at Gallery 54, by Ana Mendes.

30 August - 22 September (opening 30/08, 5-8 p.m.)

Salmon Pantone Collection, a new exhibition by Stockholm based artist Ana Mendes, opens the dialogue the between the food and fashion industries, whilst exploring questions of gender and identity, in a playful manner.

Unlike wild salmon, farmed salmon is not pink, but grey. Wild salmon is pink, because they eat shrimp. However, the consumers expect pink salmon, so the farmers feed the caged fish additives in order to taint the flesh pink. The industry even has the SalmonFan, a pantone that allows the farmers to choose the exact shade of pink they wish to sell.

The aquaculture process, wherein the fish are raised in cages, has terrible consequences for the environment. There is a high rate of disease among the fish, as well as many cases of farmed fish escaping into the wild, polluting oceans and rivers, and threatening other species. For instance, Norway reported that, in 2023, 17% of their fish died suddenly, and Scotland registered 17 million deaths (McGarth, 2024).

Moved by this reality, Mendes, in 2019, initiated the project Salmon Pantone Series, in South Korea. As part of this, Mendes created different fashion garments – ties, shirts, scarves, bags – all dyed with a similar carotenoid that is used to feed the fish. The work also references the art world, in which the tie, salmon and champagne are the soul of every party. What is more, the tie has been used as a symbol of the financial male dominated market, contested by feminists, queer and gay communities, punks and other minorities who try to challenge their dominance. The colour pink is itself a statement, a symbol of hope for LGBTQ people, breast cancer and girl power.

Mendes invited the Korean fashion designer Sae Yun Jeong, to create a special edition of the project; reflecting the complex culture and history of Korea. The Salmon Pantone Collection - A.M. x Y. J, is composed of a collection of shirts and ties that beautifully reinterprets historical narratives, namely colonialism and western influence.

For this current exhibition, Mendes transforms Gallery 54 into a pop-up store where the visitors can buy “salmon” garments, as well as taste a special menu of foods. So, the visitors will encounter salmon in all its forms: from furniture to walls, food to clothing, presenting them with an opportunity to rethink what we eat and what it looks like.

After the critically acclaimed show 'The People's Collection' at Konstepidemin/GIBCA Extended 2021, Mendes returns to Gothenburg with a new production, wherein the artist takes the subject of colonialism and identity further, establishing connections between the food and fashion industries: Salmon Pantone Collection, the food that you eat, the food that you dress.