Sample of cultured, microbial cellulose – SCOBY.
Site specific installation: Hotel Belgrade. Belgrade Art Weekend
Dimension: variable
Curated by: An Paenhuysen
The beverage Kombucha was consumed mostly during the second half of the 20th century. The drink was homemade and mostly every household had a few bottles of this beverage with the starter culture – SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). The material and the drink is made by fermenting black tea, which contains higher acidic content. The beverage and the cellulose is health beneficial, which I am implementing as a site specific piece into the chosen room 13. at Hotel Belgrade. The effort for building a special architectural piece during the first half of the 20th century strains a lot of effort which inspired me to present a fragile cultured material stretch into the walls of the historical and unfortunately abandoned building. Keeping the old characteristics of the space (including the hygiene – ants, cobwebs) I am implementing a biological matter in open faze, which during the set up will change its visual/physical and biological appearance, such as the building during the time. The metaphorical approach of the work includes the biological, cultural heritage of the whole space.
