Human Cheese

Making Human Cheese, video with audio 5:02 (still)

Still from Making Human Cheese, single channel video created by artist Miriam Simun as part of the series Human Cheese. Cheese being made from human milk - sterile visual aesthetic of making cheese contrasts with the milk source's voice depicting the messy lived experience of physically, emotionally and politically making human cheese.

Making Human Cheese, video with audio 5:02 (still)

Still from Making Human Cheese, single channel video created by artist Miriam Simun as part of the series Human Cheese. Cheese being made from human milk - sterile visual aesthetic of making cheese contrasts with the milk source's voice depicting the messy lived experience of physically, emotionally and politically making human cheese.

Human Cheese, with pasture in background

Human Cheese, pictured in front of its urban pasture, created by artist Miriam Simun as part of the Human Cheese series.

Rotating Lifecyle Platter

The Lady Cheese Shop

The Lady Cheese Shop, a concept pop up shop created by artist Miriam Simun as part of the Human Cheese series, served human cheese made from the milk of three different women.

Three Human Cheeses

Human cheese made from the milk of three different women by artist Miriam Simun, pictured here at NYU ITP Tisch School for the Art Winter Show 2010.

Tasting Human Cheese

miriam simun human cheese the lady cheese shop 2011

Interview on Sun News

Artist Miriam Simun on the Charles Adler show of Canada's SunTV being interviewed about serving human cheese at The Lady Cheese Shop.

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The Lady Cheese Shop est. 2011

Human Cheese is a socio-technical and economic system for sourcing, making and distributing human cheese, positioned as a real commodity. Sourcing human milk via the internet, making cheese in my kitchen, and adopting the storytelling practices of small-scale artisanal food brands, Human Cheese culminates in The Lady Cheese Shop: an installation that presents ethically sourced, locally made cheeses made from ‘the original natural food’ – human milk.

Three delicious human cheeses are available (made from the milk of three different women), accented with delectable food pairings inspired by the cultural and microbial terroir of each cheese. Two cheeses made from local New York milk (Chelsea and Midtown), one imported milk (Wisconsin). Milk was purchased and donated via internet/FedEx and in person. In the face of uncertain bodily, technological and food futures, Human Cheese aims to provoke a space for discourse around norms and practices with regards to food production, emerging bioavailabilities, and the commodification of bodies.

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Interview with SunNews Canada
Young Turks video commentary
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THANK YOU
Sara Hymanson, Wesley Wingo, Samuel Bamuel, Shimpei Takeda, Dan Scofield