PANKE INTERVENTIONS

Kentanggung

Workshop & Lecture | Ariel Orah and Michelle Lai (Soydivision)

Ariel Orah and Michelle Lai (Soydivision): Kentanggung, Lecture Performance, 23 Sep 2022, Art Laboratory Berlin

In the Bahasa language kentang means potatoes, while tanggung can define a plethora of words: to hold responsibility, to bear, to assure, to be half-hearted, to be awkward and to guarantee. Tracing the historical, migratory pathways undertaken by the spud, we propose an ode to the potato, this participatory research workshop explores the spectre of histories and imaginations that the potato, as a seed of desire and delight contains.

In the first part of the workshop (“Planting”) we will gather to plant potatoes and reflect about the myths of potatoes, its stories, folklores and rhymes, as well as share anecdotes about the potato. In the second part (“Observing”) we will explore the potato from a microscopic point of view and also discuss toxicities and neutralising potatoes. And in the third part (“Showing”) the workshop invites the participants to enjoy a potato cooking session, which continues with a performance lecture and eating session later on.

Kentanggung, workshop & performative lecture, Ariel Orah and Michelle Lai (Soydivision), 2022

Soydivision Berlin is a performing arts collective made up of Indonesians living in Berlin and positions itself at the intersection of art and activism. and activism. Soydivision has curated performances, organised workshops workshops, culinary art activities, film screenings and discussions. Their diasporic perspective offers an alternative approach to contemporary issues through art and invites issues through art and invites a new kind of dialogue and engagement.

Ariel William Orah is a sound artist, performer and curator. He was born in Bandung, Indonesia and has lived and worked in Berlin, Germany for the past ten years. His work and research interests include socially engaged art creation, social+climate injustice, as well as identity, memory, and scarcity. As part of his artistic practice, Orah works with various sound media, techniques and formats such as sound art, sound installation, sound performance, sound workshop, sound setting and sound composition for film and theater. Since 2008, Orah has presented his work in Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Australia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He is co-founder of the empathy-driven sound artist collective L-KW, the Berlin-based Indonesian contemporary art collective SOYDIVISION.BERLIN, and the non-profit arts and culture organization Diantara e.V.

Michelle Lai is an urban agricultural practitioner and forager from Singapore. She is a part of collective TANAH, which stands for soil, earth or land in Bahasa. It is an interdisciplinary collective engaged in the spaces around us. Through nature and food related interventions, research and dialogue, TANAH explores symbiotic relationships and forms of everyday participation.
https://medium.com/tanah