Research
Research on Letting Go in collaboration with the Open Kitchen/Free Shop.
While being an accomplice at BAK, Kumar researched the phases and ways of letting go. Whether it be of a foundation, institution, initiatives, or material objects. As part of this she collaborated with the Open Kitchen FreeShop to facilitate the flow of materials to and from individuals and other creative institutions that are closing or scaling down in Utrecht.
As a conclusion of Angelina Kumar’s research on Letting Go during her time at BAK she collaborated with artist/chef Asli Hatipoglu to conceptualise and create an artistic embodied experience for BAK’s closing event.
This carefully curated 5 course meal invited its participants to share, taste and embrace the phases of letting go through each step.
Photos by @neeltjekleijn
5 Courses:
Entree: Sourdough bread with zhoug
First course: (traces of letting go and embracing emotions)
Fermented homemade red sauerkraut, black radish, smoked tofu soup infused with black cardamom, served with chilli oil. Guests were invited to paint with the brushes using the chilli oil into their soup for traces left behind of what they let go of.
Second course (collective mirroring and sharing memories)
Black carrot, violet potatoes and purple carrot mousse with black garlic, fermented chilli cranberry sauce, grilled king oyster mushrooms, fennel salad. Surprise: zhongzhi- bamboo leaf wrapped sticky black rice with mushrooms
Third course (self-reflection on ways to support oneself during the phase of transition)
Fresh rice paper rolls with fresh herbs (mint, coriander, spring onion, shiso leaves, sawtooth coriander, Thai basil) together with multi color carrots, fried tempeh, beans, pink vermicelli, and homemade peanut sauce Guests used edible pens to write on the sheets their emotions, filled with edibles and consumed.
Fourth course (creating a rich compost from experiences)
Beetroot carpaccio, roasted leek, homemade kimchi, mushrooms Guests were invited to blindfold and eat in silence with their hands to digest the emotions
Fifth course (planting seedling of possibilities into the rich hummus they created within themselves)
Coconut hibiscus panna cotta with basil seeds, physalis, blackened apple cognac infused chestnut cream, buckwheat crumble, a piece of lychee.
Guests were given flower seeds to plant during the coming winter months as a reminder to sit with the letting go process just how these flower seeds need the dark frozen ground to develop.
Research and development methods for growing mycelium on cigarettes
In collaboration with designers at Studio Cartier and with sponsorship from the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds we conducted research to develop a method for growing mycelium on cigarettes. The goal of the research was to gain proof of concept to create a large structures in order to eventual create an art installation called Peukenbos. Along with this research we created an open source recipe manual for the developed process and method achieved. You can send a email to request a copy of this document.
Bio & Plastics
Cicular research for toxic waste streams of cigarettes:
Researching for turning the toxic waste of cigarette butts into a new circular bio or plastic solution that can be used in art and design. Research conducted at HKU LAB Pastoe Utrecht, Netherlands.
A Moment In a Cycle
A moment in a cycle was an installation I made at the start of Autumn 2020. It was something my gut was leading me to make and something I’d been wanting to do for a while. You see at this time of the year; tree surgeons can be seen around the city pruning the branches of large trees that line the streets. These branches lay on the ground for a few days before they are collected and shredded, something I’d been noticing for a few years. This time I started to collect as much as I could and brought them to my studio to create an indoor Autumn canopy, of yet to fall and die leave and branches, to dwell in. My gut wanted to take the time to personally experience what this season had to offer. Being a person that is always busy with multiple things always spinning at once, I felt the need for this to be represented in the space as well. Elevated wooden round plates, that I found near a construction site, were suspending and spinning in mid-air, not quite touching each other but connected by a metal wire grid above. At some point they were also strung together with rope by other master fine art students that were invited into the space. These wooden plates, with holes in them, moved, when touched, at their own rotation and speed as well as remaining still when the interaction ceased. I spend time observing these rotations and movements, hypnotised by their motions and stillness. I looked through the cracks between the leaves and branches that grew, and they died and fell to the ground and let this moment in the season of stillness sink in. What would or should fall away, what will or should die, what should be removed, what should remain still, what should or could connect? These suspended wooden plates and the reflective moments they offered have travelled through my work giving way for the next season to spring forth.
Making & Sharing Connections
Making & Sharing Connections
Research for mutual sharing and connecting between art practices.
Skip For Circularity
Playful research that was centred around individual flows, patterns, cycles and rhythms.
REPETITION
2018
A dance performance expressing human movements that prompt a surplus of merchandise.
DIY Mini Landfill
2017
The video shows simple steps for making your own landfill.
This public performance invited the passerby to participate in filling the earth with rubbish. It was a social experiment to spark a reaction from the public towards the accumulation of garbage, how its handed and where it ends up.
GARBAGE TOSSING COMPETITION
Game Rules:
1. Competitors stand behind the starting line, each holding garbage-bags of equal weight.
2. They each get a chance to toss the bag as far as they can.
3. The winner is the one who tosses the bag the furthest.
A NEW POINT OF VIEW
2017
KALEIDOSCOPE BIN INSTALLATION
2017
Medium: Mixed medium
The kaleidoscope bin is an installation designed to offer a different points of view’s towards the rubbish bin and its content. By creating a multiple-affect of both the individual and the contents of the bin the individual is confronted with themselves, something oddly beautiful and an environmental issue all wrapped in one.
A SMOKE MACHINE PROTOTYPE
Medium:
Hand carved wood, plexiglass, metal and other mediums.
The ‘Smoke Machine’ was designed to offer a platform that is playful & interactive simultaneously stimulating the individual to consider what smoking does to the environment and those around them, without encroaching on the individuals comfort zone and habit.