Tupi and not Tupi
Ève Chabanon
20/7/19

Tupi and not Tupi invited guests to enter a performative web of exchanges set at a dinner table, focusing on the notion of ‘cultural anthropophagy’. Chabanon’s research draws from the Antropofagia movement, initiated in 1920’s Brazil by poet and modernist Oswald de Andrade. “Only anthropophagy is uniting us […] Tupi or not Tupi, that is the question”. Referring to ontological perspectives of the Tupi (the largest indigenous group in Brazil) Chabanon launches a poetic and aesthetic investigation into cultural preservation through embodying alternative perspectives and ways of existing. “Instead of adhering to one pacified, collective ‘body’, ’Tupi and not Tupi’ suggests the presence of multiplied subjectivities that are shaped by an openness to the outside. These subjectivities don’t act as mirrors but as destinations. Connection becomes a journey of resistance across physical and mental boundaries, through exposing oneself to the metaphysics of other beings”. Chabanon finds echos of her current research in Aotearoa New Zealand’s colonial history, the Arts and Crafts movement and intellectual property rights.

London-based, French artist Ève Chabanon creates situations that grow from engagement with institutional structures. Through performance, writing and objects, Chabanon initiates projects that often involve local communities and develop out of her engagement with grassroots collectives or groups. One of Chabanon’s most recent projects, The Surplus of the Non-Producer stems from her observation that craftspeople, artists and creative producers living in a situation of exile face multiple obstacles in practicing their trade: these difficulties include accessing raw materials, tools and workshops; the loss of the ability to present traces of past work; and the absence of wider professional networks and community support. An investigation into the relationship between practice, identity and systemic failures, the project aims to initiate a conversation, to reinvest in the ethics of the local and to create possibilities as well as value. The first year of the project was dedicated to building a network of Paris-based charity organisations, lawyers, activists and thinkers who are currently advocating for the social, legal, and professional enhancement and survival of exiled populations, especially within the arts and crafts sector in France.

This event was first iteration of a series of dinners, followed by an exhibition of sculptural works, and presents Chabanon’s residency project through especially created recipes, local and mostly organic ingredients, handmade ceramic tableware and collaborative elements.

With support from the French Embassy and Te Whare Hera Residency Programme. 

Photography by Essi Airisneimi
Facilitated by Sara Cowdell.