Luísa Alpalhão
[ Table for 100’s ]
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Apresentação | debate | jantar luso-nipónico
Centro das Artes Culinárias / Mercado
de Sta. Clara, Lisboa
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‘They are merchants who belong
to the race of the Barbarians of the South. (…) they are completely ignorant of
the laws of etiquette. They drink without cups, they eat without chopsticks,
and they pick up food with their hands.’
from the brush of the bonze Nampo Bushi, Tanegashima, 1543
As the visitor meanders between a semi-public, semi-private space
from the ground floor to the rooftop of one of the few reminiscent industrial
buildings, konya2023, in the centre of Fukuoka, historical, cultural and
spatial connections between the country of the Barbarians of the South and the country whose cultural delicacy cannot
be found in any other nation come together in [ Table for 100’s ], a project
that connects two distinct cultures through food and the spaces around it.
| to taste aka
cultural & historical connections |
Portugal and Japan have had a long-term
historical connection that dates back to the 16th century. As stated
in Bouvier’s The Japanese Chronicles [1] the image of the Portuguese wasn’t
always particularly charming. Today, when people ask ‘Dochira desu ka?’
followed by ‘Porutogaru’ as my reply, the words ‘kasutera’ and ‘Nagasaki’ are
immediately spilled out and a genuine smile illuminates the inquirer’s face.
The list of dishes and words that resulted from the cultural exchanges between
the two countries over the years when Portuguese Jesuit Missionaries inhabited
places like Nagasaki and Kagoshima is long and surprising. New dishes have
emerged, new flavors and unusual eating habits have been discovered.
Food can be used as the template for
multicultural conversations anywhere in the world as people can easily relate
to the theme in one way or another. It can also easily be used as a design tool
for social projects. It is at the Table that people get together to talk and
enjoy each others company regardless of religion or age, nationality or
background.
[ Table for 100’s ] is by no means a project solely about design,
but a project that triggered many discussions on food, on people’s eating
habits and on history. Some of the statements written by Luís Fróis’ on the 16th
century ‘Tratado das contradições e diferenças de costumes entre a Europa e o
Japão’ [3] were reviewed and contradicted to portray Japanese and European
(Portuguese) contemporary society. With no more then a few words, in English
and in Japanese, this topic has enough substance for a mutual understanding and
leads us to several activities (workshops with children, narratives by adults,
correspondence exchanges) and some of the artworks exhibited ([Mix and match]
or [LA >> LF : 2011 >> 1563]) beyond the Table itself. More then a
product, [ Table for 100’s ] is what could be called a diplomatic tool, a
didactic project for all who were part of the team, for the participants and
for the visitors.
All research done before and during the design stage was used as
the raw material for the several different pieces on the exhibition.
| to touch aka
participation, a collective project |
The exhibition’s layout follows a narrative that relates to the
times of the day (and the corresponding meals), and the five senses. The
visitor is invited to participate from the very start of the route.
There is often a limbo between the artwork and the art consumer.
This results from a person’s (the artist’s) personal representation of
something that is likely to be unfamiliar to the viewer leading to a lack of
understanding of the artwork, possibly an attitude of indifference.
[ Table for 100’s ] avoids adopting an individualistic creative
process. It results from a participative approach to design from the conceptual
stage to the presentation stage. It invites people to join in and make the
project their own, as much as mine, and allows them to recognize their input at
all different levels.
Ownership of a product/space/project is one of the qualities that
can ensure its success; as the designer is the everyday person who will proudly
talk about his work, who will carefully look after it and help maintain it.
That is achieved through participative design. It is a way of designing that
should grow from micro to macro, from the scale of this Table, to the planning
of a city’s public spaces, as seen in Van Eyck’s [4] playgrounds in Amsterdam.
It is a design strategy that results from the close link between design and
user.
| to see aka
materials, a consumer’s society |
In a society where consumption has long reached excess, waste that
results from unnecessary over-packaging, under-used materials (often used in
temporary exhibitions and then trashed) and food waste has been a recurrent
theme in my work. Following Rural Studio [5] or Koeberling and Kaltwasser’s [6]
principles my designs have adopted a reverse design approach to the
conventional one. The design concept of a project demands a ‘Material Bank’.
People become involved in the project through the donation of materials they no
longer use that might contribute to the construction of the space/object. These
will then inform the design, the plans, elevations and sections.
It is a way of re-inventing waste materials, getting people to
participate (often encountering pieces of their belongings in the final
product) and reducing costs.
With [ Table for 100’s ] a
‘Material Bank’ was set up at the start and people donated several materials
that were used on the construction and inhabitation of the Table, as well as on
the smaller artworks.
This method of design challenges Japanese aesthetics that have
been so well described by Moraes [7], Barthes [8] and Tanizaki [9], and
questions their passion for wrapping that translates in over-excessive
packaging and waste. Japanese culture is no doubt one of the most harmony aware
cultures. It’s not an enforced quality, but the result of the artistry that has
been intrinsic to this nation for many generations. It was emphasized during
the Edo period where the Japanese became the most exquisite artisans and
artists, mastering technique, producing beautiful and delicate works. [ Table
for 100’s ] is of a rough aesthetic and,
though carefully put together by skilled (and fast) Japanese carpenters, it
does not relate to any of the work by contemporary Japanese designers or
architects. Instead, it relates to an image of Japan that is not often
portrayed but can be found in small villages like Wajima, or costal towns like
Hakodate, where the house owner is also the builder, where urban planning is
not a known concept and an eclectic collection of materials leads to the most
extraordinary contemporary vernacular architecture juxtapositions.
| to listen
aka dining narratives |
For a project to gain what in Japan is called cocoro (heart and
soul) it needs to go beyond the object or space; it must inherit and embed
people’s stories so it can reflect everyday moments one can relate to creating
a series of parallel narratives under the same theme. ‘Dining Stories’ was the
base that gave soul to the project. Food was the theme. Spaces, objects and
people around it were the pieces of the jigsaw that lead to the Table’s
narratives in a Perec style [10] where
attention to detail was key. Correspondents from Japan and Portugal were asked
to write about their dining routines and a collection of illustrated narratives
was put together helping define the form and contours of [ Table for 100’s ]. It was another way of getting people
involved, to make them reflect on their habits and to get them to participate
in the project, so when the Table was built they could find the corner of their
dining room where they have breakfast, the desk at the office, the counter of
the isakaya. ‘Dining stories’ information was also used as the base material
for some of the other works where the visitor could find parallel fragments of
people’s dining habits at different times of the day ([24 Hour Dining People]) or
recurrent ingredients described on the most eaten dishes ([Can you smell it?]).
| to smell aka
unravelling, appropriation of public spaces |
I would like to think of [ Table for 100’s ] as what could be
called ‘Bento Architecture’, a variation of Atelier Bow Wow’s ‘Pet
Architecture’ [11].
Home-made Bento are beautifully wrapped lunch boxes (with
Furoshiki, a simple and versatile large patterned cloth) that often contain
leftovers and new food, carefully put together in small partitions, with the
five essential colors a meal should have to give one all the necessary
ingredients to be healthy. Each small portion is a surprise by itself, as it
has its own flavor and beauty, but once put together all partitions form a
delicious and rich meal that mixes old and new.
[ Table for 100’s ] is the result of the layering of knowledge acquired theoretically, but
mostly results from life observations and conversations, from an empirical
experience. It is an overlaying of stories, and a joint effort that led to an object-space
that brings new activities to the city, makes use of a space and materials that
would otherwise be neglected and disposed. [ Table for 100’s ] is a mediator
between art and architecture through participation and represents an
alternative way that can help rejuvenating certain parts of cities in response
to the contemporary scenario where the world is in economic crises and people
are becoming more individualistic on a daily basis. Small-scale participative
and pro-active projects may become more effective then starchitecture
constructions as they become part of people’s everyday lives.
[ Table for 100’s ] exhibition and installation | konya2023 |
fukuoka | japan
111111 > 111130 www.tablefor100s.wordpress.com
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[1] BOUVIER, Nicolas; The Japanese Chronicles; London,
Eland Publishing Limited, 2008
[2] HEARN, Lafcadio; O Japão uma antologia de escritos
sobre o país, Lisboa, Edições Cotovia Ltda, 2005
[3] FRÓIS, Luís; Tratado das contradições e diferenças de
costumes entre a Europa e o Japão, Macau, Instituto Português do Oriente, 2001
[4] VAN EYCK, Aldo; Aldo Van Eyck: Works, 1944-99;
Basel, Birkhauser Verlag AG, 1999
[5] OPPENHEIMER, Andrea; Rural Studio: Samuel Mockbee and
an Architecture of Decency; New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2002
[6] KOERBERLING, Folke; KALTWASSER, Martin; Ressource
Stadt - City as a Resource: One Mans Trash is Anothers Treasure; Berlin, Jovis,
2006
[7] MORAES, Wenceslau de; Dança das Borboletas; Lisboa, O
Independente, 1999
[8] BARTHES Roland; Empire of Signs; Australia, Anchor
Books, 2005
[9] TANIZAKI, Junichiro; In Praise of Shadows; London,
Vintage Classics, 2001
[10] PEREC, Georges; Life: a user’s manual; London,
Vintage Classics, 2003
[11] ATELIER BOW BOW; Pet Architecture Guide Book; Japan,
World Photo Press, 2002
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Luísa
Alpalhão
Born in Lisbon, 1984. Luísa
completed her BSc(Hons) in Architecture from the University of East London,
followed by an MA in Architecture at the Royal College of Art, London. She is
currently doing a PhD at the Bartlett, University College of London on
Architecture, Art and Participation in relation to the way immigrant
communities occupy public spaces in Lisbon. Luísa is also the founder of the
multi-disciplinary collective atelier urban nomads. (www.atelierurbannomads.org).
