Wearable Space for Tea & Dialogue

Elke Cuppens

A museum often presents itself as a space in which visitors are encouraged to question certain elements of todays society, but unfortunately a museum visit is often an individual experience in which there is little room for people to actively discuss these topics on the spot.

For this happening Stef Lemmens and myself made five wearable items which participants can wear when entering a museum. These items are all part of one tea ceremony. The participants are free to choose where they want to set up this ceremony and in which way they want to use the objects to make tea.

This way we want to change the formal setting of a museum space into a more comfortable environment in which the participants are encouraged to take their time to talk about the art that is surrounding them.

Normally a museum does not allow food or drinks within it’s exhibition space. By making these elements wearable we smuggle this ceremony inside because we are convinced of the communicative powers that are present within the simple & respectful act of drinking tea.

The participants can use this ceremony as a tool, this way they become part of this happening in which we act to interact.

Elke Cuppens03. 05. 1996Since 2020 Elke likes to design happenings in the form of participatory installations, She wants people to interact with each other and thus establish new relationships.

These informal happenings are often linked to dining, where conversation is of great importance. She tries to subtly steer this conversation through the actions provoked by the installation itself.

The communal act that the participants must undergo provokes questions about our dependency…

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