The word on the street is that Rupert is actually a person. No-one knows exactly who, but like Aslan returning to the world of Narnia (well, not quite)  he moves among the falling leaves in search of the correct bus stop and gluten-free vegan dumplings… This (im)possibility brings Rupert to think of mis-used metaphors, and perhaps the closest contender to the many heinous uses of the word ‘c*****d’ – smorgasbord. Where exactly did this trend come from? What’s the equivalent in Lithuanian? It’s a word that has been appropriated beyond food criticism to mean anything at all in a specific coming together of all available and neatly arranged elements on a plank of wood or in a melange of copy. Perhaps it has even come through its own artistic canon to end up as a unique curatorial concept in itself. Yet if food and curatorial practice would ever truly marry, then this review of a restaurant from the hometown of a Rupert, surely offers a biennial in itself:

“It’s like turning up at one of those weddings where all the ritual has been specifically designed to disguise the various families’ poisonous dysfunction and pointing out that the bride’s mother has just slept with the best man” – Jay Rayner, The Guardian.

This gifts a rich and amusing perspective from unintentionality. Echoing our recent guest Joanna Warsza’s concept of art thought in minutes, not square meters, the next weeks bring a host of performative events to Rupert’s world. If you enjoy tea, Martin Kohout and Lars Holdhus will be presenting their modular performative installation, and in collaboration with Amsterdam’s Progress Bar, Rupert will explore new ways of experiencing a nightclub format.

The restaurant review that opened this round up also highlights for Rupert the importance to flag up and question the presence of laziness in practice and process. After such a warm summer we all know the lure of this indolence… Indeed success and strength of work lies not in a smorgasbord of many loose elements – but rather, like a good recipe (and your grandmother’s signature soup) the patient and considered rendering of a few well chosen ingredients. Time is important too – we all notice when the bpm is wrong for our favourite record… have you thought of art in minutes rather than square metres? How can this question and the unexpected push us forward in all in our own practices?

In the meantime, wrap up warm, grate some ginger and keep things on a (long) gentle simmer!

Rupert

Image: Dziewczyństwo & COVEN Berlin, Bedtime, installation view, photo: Irek Popek

In residence

Eleni Papazoglou

Eleni Papazoglou (Greece) is an Athens-born designer, researcher and producer. She lives and works in London, where she completed MA at the Royal College of Art and a BA at Camberwell College of Arts. Eleni’s current research explores participation and social dynamics as observed within institutionalised settings. Her practice, of curatorial, written and visual form, reflects on contemporary corporeal social phenomena and public engagement. At Rupert, Eleni is working with a series of performative workshops that will culminate to the creation of a Manual exploring the significance of the body within moments of institutionalised collectivity.

In residence

Jaakko Pallasvuo & Anni Puolakka

Jaakko Pallasvuo & Anni Puolakka (Finland/NL) are artists based in Helsinki and Rotterdam. Pallasvuo works with moving images, performances, exhibitions and comics. Puolakka creates performances, videos, installations and drawings in which reality-based materials are incorporated into fictional worlds. At Rupert, the duo will engage in a daily practice of painting with gouache on paper – a parallel activity to their long-term video collaboration. During the residency, the artists will also open their thoughts and practice to dialogue in the form of a presentation and a workshop.