A Brief Introduction to the World (Autobiographies), started 1989
This (possibly) lifelong project consists of reading (at least) one autobiography per country in the world (199 countries currently, according to the number of existing passports, plus one for stateless). The seemingly simple task’s unraveling complexity points to the age-old questions of who gets to tell a nation’s history, how to relate to narratives from the other side of the globe, and how to see the world through the eyes of another. In the choice of autobiographies, A Brief Introduction to the World suggests that, if objectivity is never possible, we might be better off accepting the bias of a first-person narrative by making it transparent, and can perhaps learn to apply this level of interpretation to every piece of storytelling we come across, including the stories we tell ourselves.
A Brief Introduction to the World, started 1989
Chalk on museum board, 20 x 28” / 51 x 71cm
World map showing only countries read to this day.
A Brief Introduction to the World, started 1989
Installation with books in hand-embroidered canvas covers, dimensions variable
Autobiographies read to this day.
A Brief Introduction to the World, started 1989
Installation with chalk on wall, dimensions variable
World map showing only countries read to this day.
A Brief Introduction to the World (recipes), started 2018
Attempting to gather one recipe per country in the world has little to do with food and much more to do with the encounters that breaking bread enables. Wherever in the world, preparing food together inevitably leads to the discovery of one’s kitchen, habits, and personal history. It is a simple yet rare chance and perhaps one of the most authentic ways to briefly step into a country’s heritage and culture, and get the most granular understanding of a place’s people and land, from history and politics to economics and gender roles.
Serbia: Marina’s Bećarac
Jalovik, August 2018
Photo-documentation by Catinca Tabacaru
Zimbabwe: Sadza, peanut-butter covo and ceremony goat with Heather & Anusa
Dzimbanhete, August 2018
Photo-documentation by Magita Samaita
