Soil Conversations Vol. II: Chew On This

…You fight the urge
to bite-swallow-purge the word… – Dinika Govender

I am saying
there are many ways of dying in a foreign country
with a dream in my mouth… – hn. Iyonga

What does it mean to be palatable? To be difficult to stomach? To whom? And to what end?

In the face of structures that seek to consume us, squeeze us – only to spit us out – what could it mean to make ourselves indigestible?

Could we do this while preserving our softness—while remaining open to ourselves, to each other, to the magic of our inner and outer worlds? Let us try.

Chew On This brings the creative practices of artists Dinika Govender and hn. lyonga to the table for the first time to navigate these questions.

Drawing on Iyonga’s ongoing, neighbouring practice, There Is A Table In This House, and Dinika’s travelling, experimental series Games Night, the exhibition unfolds not just inside the gallery’s Creative space, but along the borders of Galerie im Körnerpark itself.

As “An Invitation To The Sticky Stuff,” the exhibition takes us on a poetic journey divided into four courses, during which we encounter ourselves and each other with varying degrees of digestibility. Through mixed media, poetry, performance, and a little spice, the table is set for critical reflection rooted in acts of participation and play.

Conceptualised by Dinika Govender and hn. Lyonga, Chew On This marks the second chapter of Soil Conversations – an ongoing, intercontinental “series of propositions” concerning the history of our possible futures, and questioning the very idea of soil.

The event will run for one day only. Space is limited, but entry is free.

The event will be held in English.
RSVP to Galerien@Bezirksamt-neukoelln.de

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Soil Conversations is funded by the TURN2 Fund of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). Funded by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media). Curated by Yolanda Kaddu-Mulindwa & Nisha Merit in cooperation with Bubblegum Club