Hiwa K’s project is a fresh and timely iteration of an ongoing work that premiered in 2006, prophetic for today’s (post-)pandemic reality. While studying art in Mainz for four years, Hiwa K invited friends to cook with him, while his mother back in Iraq gave instructions over videophone.
Since 2006, video conferencing has become a mainstay of global communication especially important to those displaced by the turmoil of the last decade or so. But it was only with the pandemic’s lockdowns that video calls to loved ones became ubiquitous, a way of sharing everyday moments and overcoming drastic distances.At the same time, home cooking became an obsession by necessity and, possibly, the zone for a new form of politics.
For the new, post-pandemic edition of the performance, Hiwa K has developed a special street kitchen bike inspired by food stalls found in Iraq and Syria. He invites migrants living in Graz to call close friends and relatives and to cook their favorite dishes with a live audience, hopefully sparking conversations about food and its hidden political dimension, about traditions, family, and the experience of being far away from home. The events will also be broadcast via video link and recipe lists will be published in advance, allowing online guests to join.
