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Imperialism in a bottle
Developed at
Design Academy Eindhoven
Design Academy Eindhoven
Sculpture
Scenography
Artistic Research
Year : 2022
‘Curried’ poses a crucial question: What do we do with colonial objects living in our homes?
Curry Powder, an innocent material body is a cultural object designed by the forces of British colonialism and shaped by the resistance of the community from the Indian subcontinent. It coyly exists in western kitchens as ‘Indian’ cooking ingredient but is unknown to the kitchens of the subcontinent in the same form in materiality or ideology. Hence, tracing and re-imagining curry powder as a British commodity allows for an alternative narrative.
A colonial exhibition: The Crystal Palace 1851, centred around Indian objects showcased the infamous Kohinoor diamond. It allowed for an acceptance of objects sourced from colonies into the British and later western society. Kohinoor allegedly stolen, reshaped & recut to be assimilated into the ‘British Crown’ foreshadows the fate of ‘Curry powder’. Stolen, reshaped, and recut never to be same again.
Curry powder, crystallised & trapped in the form and shape of Victorian ideology under the agency of the coloniser continues to meet you in the curvy plastic bottle in western supermarkets.
Re-contextualising it as a symbol of wealth & status signified by
a centrepiece candelabra noted as per Victorian dining etiquettes. Curry powder is mixed with sugar and then caramelised to achieve a glistening surface. The crystallised materiality questions the value placed on ethnic foods consumed in western contexts.
The melting candelabra capturing the liquidity of curries, and the absurdity of candy with curry powder reflects on the logic of using curry powder in foods as a flavouring agent. Erika rapport aptly coins: Imperialism is Consumption, Ingestion and Decoration. The exhibition and the dinner table become the site for domesticating imperialism. Curry powder and Kohinoor's parallel lived realities, crystals at the core: microscopic or macro; teach us the nuances of colonial consciousness.