A Case Study of Substitute Cuisine
2024, Centrala, Birmingham, UK
Dimension: 84 x 90 cm.
Technique, materials: questionnaire workshops, paper on the wall, color markers
Part of LIFE MUSE: a collaborative project between Baan Noorg and Centrala supported by the British Council Thailand's Connections Through Culture Grant 2023. This initiative focuses on artistic exchanges with marginalized communities, emphasizing migrant value, cross-cultural dialogue, and new ideas inspired by people’s movement.
The exchange began with Centrala’s residency at Baan Noorg in Nong Pho, Ratchaburi, co-curated by Alicja Kaczmarek and Parichat Tanapiwattanakul, followed by its continuation in Birmingham, engaging local networks, hosted by Centrala.
Research Installation & Community Engagement
The project explores how diaspora communities in Birmingham and across the UK recreate their home dishes by adapting to new environments through ingredient substitutions. Observed within home kitchens, the project traces how these adaptations form a distinct culinary “accent,” revealing the ways displaced individuals preserve cultural ties while navigating change.
Engaging with Central and Eastern European migrant communities, the project investigates how traditional recipes evolve when familiar ingredients are unavailable. These substitutions not only transform flavor profiles but also act as metaphors for personal journeys of migration, belonging, and resilience.
Participants are invited to reflect on how particular ingredients trigger memories or emotional associations, expanding nostalgic connections through key words. These reflections are gathered as a “questionnaire recipe,” offering an intimate record of identity and cultural preservation expressed through cooking.
By transforming food into a site of dialogue, A Case Study of Substitute Cuisine highlights cuisine as more than sustenance—it is a living archive of memory and migration, where adaptation becomes a quiet yet powerful act of cultural resilience.
