Migration Soup: Peultje, 2024
Images taken at Club Solo, Breda
Peultjes, known in English as snow peas or Chinese peas, are intriguingly referred to as “Dutch peas”(荷兰豆) in China. This evolving name reflects the journey of this pea variety from southwestern China to the Netherlands, and then back to Taiwan and the southern coasts of China.
We used these peas to make a soup, accompanied by guided meditation and group drawing, to visualize the pea’s journey. Through the story of this migrating pea, we reflected on our own paths of migration.
In the space, a white fabric was laid on the ground, concealing scattered peas beneath it. When participants stepped or sat on the fabric, they could feel these peas beneath them. In the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea," a single pea causes discomfort beneath 40 layers of blankets. This metaphor resonates with our migrant experience, even when life may appear smooth on the surface, a persistent unease can linger, like hidden peas woven into our daily experience .
(In collaboration with Mica Pan, Hussel Zhu, and Chongjin Chen)