Serviette #9
230 x 300 mm, 80 pages
Toronto, Canada
First published in 2022
Publisher: Max Meighen
Editorial director: Caitlin Stall-Paquet
Creative director: Nicola Hamilton
Returning with a poignant watermelon front cover, the Serviette team confront heavy subject matter in this ninth edition, titled ‘Food is War/Food is Peace.’ In their opening editorial they observe that, alongside the hardships encountered in this issue, the features that unfold inside also shed light on moments of ‘life affirming connections’ and hope, fostered through food.
Federico De Blasi showcases the determination of artist and writer Vivien Sansour, who founded the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library to conserve the agricultural history of the occupied West Bank, where biodiverse terrain has been ravaged by Israel’s assaults; Margaux Seigneur visits an OKKO gas station in East Ukraine, providing a constant supply of hot dogs to Ukrainian soldiers heading out or returning from the frontlines, offering a liminal vestige of safety between the troops and the frontlines; and ‘nomadic winemaker’ Rami Bassil El Sabban guides readers through the backstreets of Beirut on a tour of five household bars and eateries keeping their doors open amid conflict in Lebanon.