Don’t Leave Your Cup
2017

Participatory installation
Ceramic

Don’t Leave Your Cup is the outcome of the residency program at Kielce Institute of Design with a theme of Hospitality exploring the relationship between cultures, languages, and prejudices 

The local TV report on the exhibition: link.

Don’t Leave Your Cup is a participatory installation that delves into the intricate interplay of cultures, languages, and biases within the context of guest-host dynamics and the spectrum of hostility-hospitality. This installation comprises masks that symbolize various responses and dialogues the artist encountered with local residents during the residency, all presented in Farsi. These masks are thoughtfully arranged on a table alongside cups, encouraging the audience to choose one and actively engage with the installation. Spectators are prompted to initiate conversations and share experiences with others, eventually gaining the opportunity to verify the translation of the sentence displayed on their chosen mask.

“So kindly they bring you a cup of tea to welcome you.

Cups which are full of unspoken feelings, are involved in ongoing relationships that are being formed. Judgments, uncertainty, fears, cultural backgrounds, and language barriers make the cups unbalanced. The cups, as part of the relationships, need to be taken care of to not fall and break.

So they kindly bring you a cup of tea to welcome you. And that is just the beginning.”