The Past or Tradition of Power
Illustrated by Eloïse Lorphèvre
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I have always been interested in societal rules, why do we act the way we do and who decides upon it. Considering this, I began paying attention to table manners. What started as a fascination, quickly left my personal journals to turn into a project and eventually this research paper.
All around the world people sit and eat, talk and eat, gather and eat. I asked myself the question: how are table manners that date back to so many centuries ago still so strong, so important and full of power when the world is changing so fast? What visuals are we seeing that keep these unconscious traditions so close to us?
Through journaling, literature research, deploying AI, and historical art & pop culture analysis, I investigated the evolution of the representation of the dinner table manners in Western Culture and its impact in our traditions. The findings pointed to belief that the table etiquette is still spread out throughout the different media which has led to maintaining and reinforcing the ancient rules and traditions up until 2025.
Thesis supervised by Ingrid Grootes
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
BA Photography
2025