The Thousands

Tenderfoot’s what you call someone who’s inexperienced at being outdoors. It’s also the name of Condiment‘s exhibition about eating outdoors. Okay I’ll say it: Right now some good looking kids are instagr.am-ing burnt marshmallows and buying up on Patagonia when there really is no need to. Camping has become a ‘thing’.

So what takes Tenderfoot beyond the ridiculous? For me it’s the open acknowledgement of being amateur and the way the exhibition manages to capture that collective, familiar feeling of eating outdoors. The work of Kasane Nogawa (Japan), Ye Rin Mok (South Korea), Nich Hance McElroy (North America), Peter Sutherland (North America) and Jessica Brent (Australia) is proof of this.

When I asked Condiment editors Chris and Jess about Tenderfoot, they talked about taking “the focus off the food itself and on how a prior experience can enhance enjoyment. For instance, a hot tin of tomatoes after a 50km river walk can be more satisfying than a $200 degustation.” I really get this. When I was a tenderfoot, I went camping for the first time with my dad. The sausages, bread and raw carrot sticks we ate that night made for the most delicious and memorable dinner I’ve had yet.