Tea, Tea, (2023 - ongoing)

Handmade paper and ceramics, at-home relational art kits, spices, and audio description

Originally developed at the Banff Centre Meeting for Teas residency in 2023.

Tea, tea is a questioning of what I hold on to from my lineage, as well as how to preserve traditions while living in a world that tries to appropriate and empty them of any sort of social and relational significance.

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The one thing that I feel completely confident that I have held on to from my lineage as someone who grew up Ismaili Muslim with Indian and Ugandan roots, is how to make a proper, triple-boiled, spicy masala chai.

The kind of special, mindful chai you make for guests. The chai that fuels gossip between aunties. The chai you make when you haven’t seen someone for a while. The smell, taste, warmth, slowness and care in preparation all create a welcoming ambiance.

For this residency, I used tea as a starting point to explore slowness and anti-urgency. I created at-home relational art kits using my mom’s recipe for masala chai as a launching point for a relational experience. I am currently working on the next edition of the project to be released in 2027.