A Language We All Know
ongoing since 2018
an experimental platform for shared meals, recipes, foods, flavours,
memories and (hi)stories
The beginning of this project goes back to the time when I was
organising communal dinners for fellow artists in residence at HISK, Ghent, 2018.
With the aim to create a space where artists could exchange who they are and not
only what professional careers they got to present. Everyone who took part in it brought
their stories and memories along with them. One of the most fascinating elements was
the discovery that we have memories in common, even though we come from totally different
backgrounds, countries, and histories. There are elements in our memories which can be compared:
the knowledge of the smell of home, the tradition of the Fridays meals at the grandparents‘ place,
the excitement of receiving treats, the need to feed the body, the comparison of following recipes
regarding food as well as the making of work.
The title addresses the tongue‘s ability to tell what one (dis)likes.
In this sense, it‘s not claiming that we all would speak or understand the same,
but we all know our personal taste‘s language.
The work at the project was presented during the 16th Venice Biennale of Architecture,
at The Swamp Pavilion, Lithuanian Pavilion, Venice, Italy, 2018.
So far there are around 35 friends, artists, and curators who have contributed to this idea
in their own ways. Many of them involve more places than the one of their origin.
