This thesis consists of a curatorial essay and contemporary art exhibition entitled Best Before featuring artwork by KC Adams, Keesic Douglas, Cheryl L’Hirondelle, Peter Morin and Suzanne Morrissette. Through the investigation of a variety of topics including Aboriginal curating, culinary exhibitions, food studies, food history, and the associations between food, place, representation and identity, my research engaged texts pertinent to the complex issues raised when analyzing artworks addressing cultural agency and the encoding of food from Aboriginal perspectives. The curatorial essay continues these examinations by relating the acculturation of so-called Aboriginal cuisine with artworks that unmask the lived experiences of a continuing colonial legacy where food sources play a key role. In the exhibition, artists respond to recipes of their choice by referencing food in their artworks. Together these artworks complicate notions of cultural identity while signalling the links between colonization and the global food system
