Kıvanç Sert ~ Tea and Land, Story of Cultivation of Cultivator
Kıvanç Sert's "Tea and Land, Story of Cultivation of Cultivator" was presented before live audience at Centrale Fies, Dro, Italy on August 4, 2024 as one of 38 AEROPONIC ACTS of CHAMELEON ORBIT curated by Elisa Giuliani & Giulia Crispiani.
Here you will find the documentation of Kıvanç Sert's presentation as filmed by Baha Görkem Yalım. The written report is by Bethany Crawford and it includes a summary of the comments by esteemed guest respondents.
Tea and Land, Story of Cultivation of Cultivator
Kıvanç Sert's question: How do we form a nation with a plant?
Kıvanç' introduction: Here we are, on a 1 piece of land, within a nation and a plant. Imagine vast green hills, lined up together, forming the landscape around us. We stand on a field near one of those hills, surrounded by more green hills, all cultivated and filled by a Nation. Today, here, all the plants are the same, united in monoculture like a nation-state. How did we end up in here like this?
What happens when you change the seeds? Cultivating a plant means cultivating a society, they say.
Let me tell you a story of tea and land, as we keep moving and listening around those hills.
One day, in a 1 single nation, the decision is made: they want to drink tea. The order is given to bring tea seeds to the land. The seeds arrive, and now it is time to change—change the seeds. A change of a land with 1 tea.
Bethany's report: The audience enters the space and is handed a small popcorn kernel. The room has a casual, welcoming atmosphere, with people seated on the floor. The performer, an eccentric and fluid character, moves erratically as they pick up a microphone, launching into a performance that blends storytelling, movement, and humour.
The performer talks about tea, plants, and heritage. They muse about how plants are rarely given the choice to be taken or not, weaving the narrative of human history and our shared connection to the earth. Small fabric tea cloths are scattered on the floor, adding tactile elements to the space. The soundscape shifts, the performer asks the audience if we hear the faint sound of footsteps descending a mountain, which transitions into a drumbeat. The rhythm energizes the room as audience members begin to rise and stomp to the beat. One by one, more people join, dancing to the growing intensity of the traditional music—almost bagpipe-like in tone. The performer sits among them on the floor, laughing and moving with the rhythm. The audience picks up the tea cloths, twirling and spinning them as they dance, integrating the objects into their movements.
The performer continues their story, speaking of the past, of hills, seeds carried in pockets, and the long existence of folk traditions intertwined with corn. Rain and drumbeats underscore the tale, creating an evocative atmosphere. "Do you hear this coming from the mountain?" the performer asks repeatedly, engaging the audience and building anticipation. The tea cloths become part of the interaction, with audience members holding them up, moving them in rhythm, and sharing them with one another.
The music pauses briefly, offering a moment of rest, before starting again with lively, folksy tones. People rise once more to dance, their movements free and uninhibited. The performer does not dictate how to move but instead invites everyone to share in the joy of the moment, blending the traditional music with the spontaneous, multicultural expression of the audience. The tea cloths are swung, spun, and tossed, becoming extensions of the dance.
The story builds to reflections on seeds and their symbolic weight: "What you eat makes you who you are. What you drink makes you what you are." The performer touches on themes of monocultures versus multicultural ecosystems, the trade and transmission of food and farming cultures, and the imposition of traditions across landscapes. The narrative is interwoven with the ongoing collective dance, the performer dancing chaotically with the audience, celebrating the dissolution of rigid traditions into a cross-pollination of joy and sharing. As the performance reaches its conclusion, the audience is invited to "put the seeds back" in exchange for a bag of tea—a symbolic gesture of reciprocity and exchange.
Inti Guerrero: Inti began by expressing gratitude for the performance, emphasizing that his comments were not intended as prescriptive advice for the future but rather as a personal response to what the performance evoked in him. He noted how the work felt deeply connected to the performer’s peers and the broader context of the event.
Inti highlighted the use of a visible timer in the performance, remarking on its significance as a reminder of something the performer already embodies in their daily life. He observed that the performer seamlessly integrates art and life, which is evident even in small interactions. He described the performer as someone who naturally "reads the room" with intelligence and intuition, likening their presence to that of a wise, sharp-tongued figure in a local bar—someone whose brilliance emerges when closely observed.
Drawing broader connections, Inti reflected on the idea of natural intelligence, contrasting it with institutionalized notions of intellectualism. He remarked on how the performer’s intuitive intelligence reminded him of what the West lost with the 1960s hippie movement, where art and life were fluid, and self-expression—through screaming, creating, and living—was encouraged and embraced.
Inti then referenced the "Angels of Light," an artistic collective that laid the foundation for the Cockettes, as an example of a group that lived and created outside conventional societal laws. He suggested the performer might find inspiration in their work and ethos. He also brought up anartist who transitioned from being part of a hippie commune to becoming a studio artist, as a parallel example of art’s transformative potential in communal and personal contexts.
In a more art-historical metaphor, Inti compared the performer to figures like Toulouse-Lautrec, who worked amidst the liberated spaces of brothels in late 19th- and early 20th-century Paris. He described how these spaces embodied a raw, uninhibited creativity that resonated with aspects of the performance.
As a final suggestion, Inti encouraged the performer, to immerse themselves in the tradition of street theater, which has existed for centuries and represents a rich constellation of cultural and artistic wisdom.
Antonia Majaca: Antonia connected the presentation to the figure of the joker or court fool, emphasizing its brilliance as an intervention. She noted how the fool has a unique freedom to articulate truths unavailable to others—a truth specific to the fool’s position, delivered through silliness or not being taken seriously, yet carrying profound significance.
She reflected on the concept of "the folk" and the complexities tied to it, particularly in relation to histories of genocide and romanticized notions of returning to the land. Antonia acknowledged the potential slipperiness of such ideas, noting how they can evoke both diversity and multiplicity or slide into dangerous terrains of nationalism and fascism. She emphasized the need to navigate these histories thoughtfully, without falling into the trap of romanticizing the past.
Antonia delved into the idea of the seed as a metaphor, suggesting that it could serve as an activation of memories. She discussed how the seed might relate to barter economies and feminism,. She highlighted the concept of "the immemorable," which she described as that which moves between memories without becoming conscious itself—a form of unconscious memory that is also unforgettable. This, she suggested, could serve as the foundation for a return to the land that is truly meaningful and transformative.
Expanding on these ideas, Antonia introduced the concept of "oikos," a term from ancient Greek philosophy referring to the household—a space outside the realm of reason and logic where tools and technicity originate. She proposed using oikos as a space of potentiality to rethink notions of technology, memory, and creation. Antonia emphasized that the "folk of the oikos" in ancient Greece—women, children, and enslaved people—were historically excluded from recognition, yet they represent the potential carriers of an unforgettable and universal memory untethered from national or individual identity.
She then connected these ideas to contemporary political movements, specifically highlighting the Kurdish movement as a profoundly important political project. She referenced Murray Bookchin's concept of social ecology, which heavily influenced Abdullah Öcalan, noting how the ideas developed by Bookchin resonate deeply with the themes of the performance.
Antonia concluded by expressing her gratitude for the performance, acknowledging that it gave her much to think about, even if her reflections were somewhat dispersed.
Ramon Amaro: Ramon began by thanking the performer for their presentation, noting how it sent him in a completely unexpected direction, one that felt like an immediate challenge. He described how, when the performer stated, “This isn’t politics,” it felt like an invitation to follow their thought process. His initial reaction was to dive into quick research, trying to understand as much as possible about tea and Turkey in the limited time he had. This led him down a rabbit hole, exploring the cultural significance of tea in Turkey, its history, and its role in creating social spaces. However, he noted that much of the literature felt repetitive, reflecting a monocultural narrative.
Ramon shared how his research reminded him of the film Best in Show, specifically a character who calmed his anxiety by listing types of nuts in a repetitive, monotonous sequence. He connected this to the way monoculture presents itself as diverse but ultimately drives people into madness. He saw parallels in the performance’s exploration of how cultural identities are constructed and how superficial variations can obscure underlying uniformity. This realization, he explained, drove him deeper into the idea of how madness can emerge from systems that appear varied but are fundamentally singular.
He appreciated the performer’s framing of these ideas, especially the use of humor and lamentation to address serious themes. He noted how the performance created a space to confront pain with humor, observing how phrases like “I smell pain” shifted the relationship to suffering. Ramon also reflected on a moment in the performance where animals, possibly foxes, were present, and the performer gave them agency. This reminded him of a previous presentation where an ayahuasca experience led to an apology to an insect for humanity’s harm, further connecting the performance to themes of returning to Earth and reckoning with ecological and cultural damage.
Ramon concluded by thanking the performer for sending him into this unexpected spiral of thought. He noted how the performance provoked reflection on monoculture, madness, and the humor inherent in addressing deep pain. He also expressed his admiration for the endurance of all the performers and audience members, acknowledging the shared effort and resilience in creating and experiencing the work.
AEROPONIC ACTS 2024 ~ Chameleon Orbit