Mirna Bamieh explores the politics of disappearance and the emergence of memory – both of which are closely tied to her own history and background as a Palestinian. She examines how food, recipes and eating habits are not only expressions of personal realities but also reflections of political and social change. For her, the sensory language of food becomes a medium for memory, resistance and storytelling.
Potato Talks is a performance project that transforms the simple act of peeling potatoes into a platform for communal exchange. A group of storytellers invites passersby to engage in direct conversation while peeling a potato together. The humble tuber is used in many different cultures and cuisines, and the associated stories are just as diverse. The project celebrates the ordinary and creates opportunities for encounter. Storytellers and audience come together through an intimate, everyday act and share personal as well as collective narratives. With each performance, Potato Talks reimagines public space as a communal kitchen, a place where stories simmer and collide. Food is deeply connected to the notion of home and belonging: tastes, smells, family recipes and culinary rituals allow individuals who have left their familiar surroundings to maintain a sense of continuity with the past and reaffirm their presence in the face of invisibility – an idea that takes on particular urgency in light of current experiences of displacement, war and marginalization. Potato Talks shows that even the smallest gestures hold infinite possibilities for connection and change.
Overview:
A group of storytellers sits in a square that is otherwise used for weekly markets. Opposite them are empty stools for passersby. Anyone who lingers is invited to join a conversation – and to peel a potato with their counterpart. At the end, the peeled potatoes are cooked on site and eaten together. The artist provides the recipe.
Dates and Locations
June 7 · 2.30 PM – 5.30 PM · Bürkliplatz
June 27 · 5.30 PM – 8.30 PM · Helvetiaplatz
July 4 · 2.30 PM – 5.30 · PM · Marktplatz Oerlikon
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Subject to weather conditions
Further information and current program
Please note the awareness concept.
Foto Credit: ©Caroline Minjolle, «Potato Talks» im Kunsthaus Zürich