Mousavijad studied in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the University of Pennsylvania, and now teaches at Ohio State University. He asked Martinez to prepare actual food for the VR experience based on her personal story of coming to the U.S. from Mexico as an undocumented immigrant and working in Philadelphia restaurants, from which she was fired at least once for her immigration status.
Ultimately, Martinez’s is a success story, rising from the shadows of largely invisible kitchen work commonly done by immigrant laborers to becoming a celebrated and award-winning restaurant owner. She has used her popularity and her connections with the Mexican workforce to advocate for immigrant labor.
Paloma Martinez-Cruz, an assistant professor of Latino studies at North Central College of Naperville, Illinois, contributed scholarly work to “Taste of Exile.” In an essay, she wrote that food is both metaphor and medium, a sensual experience that can evoke critical engagement with immigration.
A 3D scan of a Philly food truck leans into the glitches of the technology to reflect the disjointed immigrant experience. It’s part of MenuFesto, a gallery exhibit at The Print Center accompanying the “Taste of Exile” VR experience by Illya Mousavijad. (Photo courtesy of The Print Center)
“Technology becomes an embodied ritual for exploring the complexities of forced migration,” she wrote. “Chef Martinez’s story anchors this experience, contextualizing broader themes of undocumented labor, the Mexican/Latinx diaspora, and the politics of the U.S.-Mexico border.”
The virtual reality experience of “Taste of Exile” is a single person experience lasting about 15 minutes, and can only be available by preregistering for a time slot. The pop-up is paired with a multimedia gallery exhibition “MenuFesto,” which includes digital composites of food trucks accompanied by a soundtrack of audio interviews with immigrant laborers who cook inside of them.
The VR and gallery pop-up will be at The Print Center, 1614 Latimer in Rittenhouse Square, this weekend only Jan. 10 and 11.