Sabor #2
Gastronomic title Sabor is back after an 18 month gap with a big bang of an issue. If The Gourmand represents an optimistic and abstract creationism, Sabor offers a colder, more scientific approach to food.
Subtitled ‘Spirulina Dreams’ after the algae superfood (the cover illustrates a world where fast food is Spirulina-based), the issue delves into our culinary future. Cooking and dining, production and farming are all under the microscope. We learn about the healing properties of magic mushrooms, micro-algae and vegetarian salmon. Climate change, apiary, starvation and gentrification.
Most of the pieces propose bold ideas and modern solutions; this serious material is leavened by lighter stories such as David Titlow’s photography of the strange world of darts fans at tournaments and Yusuke Riechers’ images of New York pizza neons (both above), while eerie Borgen-esque images by Florian van Roekel of the making of a fish sandwich make even this simple operation appear strange and alien.
The issue is split into four sections, each one opening with a pair of coloured discs on a flat field of colour (above). These are designed to echo the binocular vison of a child’s Viewmaster toy, something editor Fermin Albert explained to me as, ‘a reflection of my own childhood. Looking through the device felt magical and surreal… I could stop at a frame for minutes, imagining all sorts of fantastic visions.’
That sums up well this 284-page double issue of the magazine. The writing is accompanied throughout by another great set of illustrations. We bounce back and forth between a fantastical assault of bright colours and futuristic imagery.
The precise, scientific nature of the mag is never precious, a daring editorial attitude and luxurious visual palette see to that. The absinth greens and trippy figures clash with the sophisticated fonts and white space to build up a substantial mosaic of visual messages.
Originally only a digital app, Sabor in print is a wonderfully rich experience.
Editor and art director: Fermin Albert