Turkey
A Thousand Years of Taste Where East Meets West
The Teahouse Silhouette
Signature Dishes: Coffee, Black Tea
The Turkish teahouse (Kıraathane) is a micro public sphere for male socializing. Its complex internal social contracts, intergenerational transmission of tacit knowledge, and female absence constitute a sensory form of "social invisibility."
The exhibition immerses visitors in this space through surrounding spatial projections, authentic teahouse sound sampling, and mirror reflections. Meanwhile, tabletop screens display the modernization history of Turkish government-supported Black Sea tea cultivation from the 1920s, alongside tea-picking tools and vintage teahouse vessels, embodying grand narratives through tangible objects.
Finally, the space functions as a real, experiential teahouse, offering tea beverages and refreshments. Visitors, through dual immersion of taste and hearing, come to understand the century-spanning national memory and social structure behind a single cup of black tea.
The Intimate Theatre of Ramadan
Signature Dish: Desserts
Ramadan food is highly "invisible"—it occurs within private domestic spaces, intimately tied to specific religious rhythms and sensory narratives of waiting and sharing.
The exhibition presents a complete Ramadan meal through immersive dining table light projections, following the meal sequence from sunset to sunrise, accompanied by the sound of Ramadan drums. Box displays reveal the connection between food and religion, while select periods simulate iftar, offering food workshops (focusing on dessert making) where visitors experience the preparation of authentic dishes, thereby conveying sacredness and domestic intimacy.
In this theatre, light and shadow, waiting and sharing, sweetness and faith weave together into a cultural depth that fast-casual dining can never replicate.
Kebab: The Afterimage of Acceleration
Signature Dish: Kebab
Kebab was originally rooted in the traditional cooking and living context of Anatolia, yet through globalization and population mobility, it has been reduced to highly standardized European street fast food. This has caused its rich cultural narrative, ethnic memory, and aesthetic essence to become "invisible."
The exhibition deconstructs this symbol through artistic intervention (such as Yang Song's high-speed rotating sculpture), revealing how speed and consumerism dissolve cultural depth. Meanwhile, historical panels, international menus, handwritten materials (such as purchase orders and recipes), and film screenings trace the obscured traditional roots and intimate narratives within standardized landscapes.
Amid the contrast between "acceleration" and "deceleration," visitors are invited to reconsider: when a food is detached from its land and people, what remains?
Journey Through the Taste and Time of Anatolia
From the teahouse silhouette to the Ramadan theatre, from the afterimage of fire to the memory of sweets—feel the depth and warmth of Turkish food culture.
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