A good theory in theory examines the dynamic between the political functions of food culture and the penal system: Shared meals foster sociability, creating a sense of belonging and exchange. It is not uncommon for conflicts to be resolved at the dinner table, for important decisions to be made and memories to be shared there. As part of an ongoing research project, Belia Zanna Geetha Brückner writes letters to prisoners in various penal institutions in the UK, Germany and Switzerland, asking them about their freedom recipes: What’s the first dish you want to cook and eat with your loved ones when you’re released? The answers she has received are on view in A good theory in theory, an exhibition in the outdoor area of the GAK: Recipes for cheesecake, Pasta Broccoli, Udon Noodle Soup with Laonganma Sauce, which she collages onto her own kitchen towels.
Voices that otherwise remain behind walls and isolated from social life find visibility in a shared public sphere. At the same time, it shows gaps where communication breaks down, such as when letters are withheld or delayed due to extensive checks by prison authorities.
Brückner’s artistic practice investigates power structures in contemporary neoliberal societies, exploring ambivalences in notions of democracy and social participation. She makes use of transparency- and freedom of information laws, archival documents, interviews, and other forms of exchange. In this context, recipes may seem banal, but they have a distinctly democratic and emancipatory character. They convey knowledge and culture, but they are not prescriptive: ingredients can be changed, quantities adjusted. Recipes require participation and only take on their full meaning when interpreted and brought to life by a cook.
What do we like to eat later? We all know this question. Sometimes it leaves us without ideas, at other times it evokes anticipation and an appetite for the next meal. Despite its supposed everyday triviality, food is fundamental. However, prisoners in German prisons can hardly answer the question in a self-determined way. While incarcerated access to food preparation is severely restricted and financially encumbered by monopolies such as the one held by company Massak GmbH. Moreover, stateprovided meals are usually consumed alone in cells, reinforcing the isolating nature of imprisonment. A good theory in theory engages in a dialogue with the prisoners and their longing for bodily self-determination. It is also an invitation to passersby to reflect on the intersection of theory and practice, starting with these recipes—which they might even decide to cook.
Belia Zanna Geetha Brückner (*Mönchengladbach) studied time-based media at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK) and at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research-based works have been awarded the Karl H. Ditze Prize and the Max Ernst Scholarship. Recent solo and group exhibitions include those at Kunstverein Dortmund (2024), Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin (2024), Kunstverein Gastgarten Hamburg (2024), City Surfer Prague (2023), Goldsmiths University London (2023), and EIGEN+ART Lab Berlin (2022). From 2023 to 2024, she was the recipient of the Hamburg Cultural Foundation’s scholarship for the promotion of young artists.
A good theory in theory is part of the exhibition series “Re-Framing” in the poster frames in the GAK’s outdoor space. In consecutive solo presentations the invited artists take language as a starting point to intervene in the tense relationship between word and image. They disrupt conventional ways of seeing, reflect on (in)visibility and enable intimacy in the public space.
Within the poster frame series “Re-Framing“
Curated by Maxie Kiwitter
Events
Thu, 26.09.2024, 19 h
Opening with Cheesecake
Thu, 28.11.2024, 19 h
Dinner conversation with Belia Zanna Geetha Brückner
> The number of participants is limited.
Registration via office[at]gak-bremen.de until 25.11.
Funded by
Der Senator für Kultur der Freien Hansestadt Bremen, Beate + Hartmut Schaefers Stiftung, Gemeinsam – Stiftung der Sparkasse Bremen