Kitchen Table: Holy Cow & The Pomegranate, performance (2020)
Presented during the lock down days in 2020, this online performance included the participation of the guests in preparing a soup. Based on an ancient recipe from the cookbooks of the Abbasid empire. While people curl up on their couch and enjoy the soup I weave through the historical, mythical and metaphorical stories that are inspired by the main (and unexpected) fruit in the soup: the pomegranate.
In the eastern Mediterranean and central Asia, the season for pomegranates begins in the end of Sept, and continues until the end of November. the fruit itself can be stored in the pantry for another month or two without going bad (it just shrivels up a little). Coincidentally, the fruit is connected with the symbology and meanings of the Zodiacal sign of Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21) and the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone. Using the form of the fruit, with it's packed seeds huddled together as a starting point the performance layers a narrative around the meanings, analogies and connections between the seasons and it's fruits, astrology and the historical stories embedded in them to find tentacular (Harraway) ways of understanding the connections of the human and non-human worlds.
Pomegranate Soup:
seed 3 fresh pomegranates,
½ cup long grain brown rice,
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp. of grated ginger (or powdered ginger),
2 tsp. cumin, salt, 8 cups water, some chili flakes if you like chili.
Put everything in the pot and bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat, stir occasionally for 30minutes. Eat!
WATCH HERE
In the eastern Mediterranean and central Asia, the season for pomegranates begins in the end of Sept, and continues until the end of November. the fruit itself can be stored in the pantry for another month or two without going bad (it just shrivels up a little). Coincidentally, the fruit is connected with the symbology and meanings of the Zodiacal sign of Scorpio (Oct 23-Nov 21) and the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone. Using the form of the fruit, with it's packed seeds huddled together as a starting point the performance layers a narrative around the meanings, analogies and connections between the seasons and it's fruits, astrology and the historical stories embedded in them to find tentacular (Harraway) ways of understanding the connections of the human and non-human worlds.
Pomegranate Soup:
seed 3 fresh pomegranates,
½ cup long grain brown rice,
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp. of grated ginger (or powdered ginger),
2 tsp. cumin, salt, 8 cups water, some chili flakes if you like chili.
Put everything in the pot and bring it to a boil, then turn down the heat, stir occasionally for 30minutes. Eat!
WATCH HERE