The Grey Space x EROI

Sat 26 March
17.00–01.00
Free Entrance

In collaboration with EROI

In collaboration with artist Yoshinari Nishiki, we will launch the energy drink made out of the invasive Japanese knotweed, EROI.

Program

Against the backdrop of a small exhibition (including the premiere of two videos produced by Clifford Sage aka Recsund) you can enjoy a dinner accompanied by a Guruguru Brain DJ-set. Followed by a panel talk with EROI initiator and artist Yoshinari Nishiki (aka Inari of TOFU), Lóránt Tavasszy (TU Delft) and JP Magis (number5.bike), moderated by Marijke Cobbenhagen (The Grey Space). The night will conclude with blondewednesday b2b Sas by our sides.

  • 17.00–01.00 – Exhibition open
  • 18.30–20.30 – Dinner + DJ: Guguru Brain
  • 20.30–21.30 – Panel: Yoshinari Nishiki, Lóránt Tavasszy, JP Magis, Marijke Cobbenhagen
  • 21.30–01.00 – DJ: blondewednesday b2b Sas
Dinner

Update: unfortunately De Onkruidenier had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances.

We’re happy to announce that Yoshinari Nishiki will be cooking for you tonight.  We will have Mapo Tofu (a Sichuan classic), Namul (a Korean spinach side dish) and Annin Tofu is (a traditional Chinese jellied dessert made of apricot kernel milk, agar, and sugar). All dishes are vegan.

Price: €8,50

The dinner will be musically complemented with a DJ-set and performance by GuruGuru Brain, two members of the Japanese psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo.

EROI
“Energy is not something that can be observed only in the physics lab or with expensive instruments but is part of everything we do. Take the kitchen: we may think of energy when we boil water or turn on the oven, but who thinks of a sharp knife as energy, as a force concentrating device . . . ?” – Energy Return on Investment by Charles A. S. Hall

EROI Drink (エロいドリンク) is an energy drink made from Japanese Knotweed, an invasive alien plant pervasive in the Netherlands. We especially focus on sourcing unpolluted strains by working with water management companies and a nature conservation organization. The drink is named after the term “EROI” which stands for Energy Return on Investment, a measurement increasingly becoming critical in an era ever more finite. “エロい (Eroi)” simultaneously implies romantic in Japanese, representing the Utopian ecology conceived around the drink. The unwanted nature of an invasive species puts itself in a similar position to the wind or the sun, an abundant energy source. When combined with zero-emissions transport, an extremely high EROI beverage can be produced, namely, the EROI Drink.

“The idea of working with an invasive species from my own country fascinates me because of the self-destructive imaginary”, tells Yoshinari Nishiki, the Japanese artist behind EROI. “Being a non-native species automatically means uncultivable, coincidentally enforcing a low-impact way to procure resources. But it has to come from somewhere clean, as the world we live in is polluted pretty much everywhere.” Not only combining “invasive”, “non-agricultural”, and “unpolluted”, but also the financial as well as logistical aspects matter for EROI.

Lóránt Tavasszy – Professor in Freight and Logistics at the Delft University of Technology – and JP Magis – the founder of number5.bike, an innovative cargo bike company from Amsterdam – will join the launch of EROI in a panel moderated by Marijke Cobbenhagen (The Grey Space).

The special knotweed tools actually used for harvesting and transportation will also be showcased in an exhibition. But of course, the commercial aspect is equally important. Therefore, Yoshinari is also premiering promotional music videos for EROI produced by Clifford Sage (a.k.a Recsund).