Steam Dough Routine 2022
Graduation Show
Gerrit Rietveld Academie (NL)
06-10.07.2022
Every day, the routine repeats itself, but it never tastes the same.
As the steam slowly rises, a group of people gathers in front of the oven. Silence and anticipation gradually spread around the wood and copper kiln.
It's 4 p.m. The timer rings. I lift the lid and pull out the contents from its fading cloud. A beige, soft mass interwoven on a long glossy structure is revealed and displayed like a trophy on a metallic stand.
One by one, overlooked and gleaned condiments are arranged on the dough-covered skewer: half branches, half bones.
Steam Dough Routine is a performance that honors dough, a malleable body that allows one to knead it into the desired shape, texture, and taste. Flat, puffed, sour, chewy, flaky, crumbly, laminated, dry or sticky...The temporality and quality of the preparation depend on the intentions we have toward that dough. Mine is to appreciate its transformation through steam.
This almost-bread, soft and without a crust, stays the closest to its dough form. As the ingredients and landscape dictate the tempo of the performance, the dough will be a reflection of what is put into it.
Passing the fragile skewers through the audience marks the final act; to partake, one must handle the dough with care
As the steam slowly rises, a group of people gathers in front of the oven. Silence and anticipation gradually spread around the wood and copper kiln.
It's 4 p.m. The timer rings. I lift the lid and pull out the contents from its fading cloud. A beige, soft mass interwoven on a long glossy structure is revealed and displayed like a trophy on a metallic stand.
One by one, overlooked and gleaned condiments are arranged on the dough-covered skewer: half branches, half bones.
Steam Dough Routine is a performance that honors dough, a malleable body that allows one to knead it into the desired shape, texture, and taste. Flat, puffed, sour, chewy, flaky, crumbly, laminated, dry or sticky...The temporality and quality of the preparation depend on the intentions we have toward that dough. Mine is to appreciate its transformation through steam.
This almost-bread, soft and without a crust, stays the closest to its dough form. As the ingredients and landscape dictate the tempo of the performance, the dough will be a reflection of what is put into it.
Passing the fragile skewers through the audience marks the final act; to partake, one must handle the dough with care