Stories on a Banana Leaf

The team at MAP loves to think about food; about how we collectively make choices about food and drink. What gives people comfort, what is the history of a local dish or its ingredients? How has it crossed borders and limitations of imaginations? How has it brought people together, or made a traveller feel at home? But also, how has it driven people apart and created boundaries? Culinary dishes are ‘in between the lines’ of history — they add beauty and comfort where there is struggle and darkness. The sensorial longing and memories of taste gives us happiness and joy, brings people together and makes us crave for more. Stories on a Banana Leaf combines sculptures, paintings, prints, textiles and photographs from MAP’s collection together with recipes from our team members for people to cook at home. While many people cooked their first meal during the lockdown, some of us held on to what we eat through memories of family, of holidays, of birthdays and ordinary moments of sharing. Even today, as we remain homebound and isolated, experiments with food gives many of us respite and joy, whether it was attempting a sourdough starter or perfecting the round roti. We hunt for local ingredients, exchange recipes and use kitchen tools and objects that carry their own histories.

You can click on either the artworks or quotes by our team members to read more on the artworks, ingredients and recipes.
Every image in this exhibition contains alt text as an accessibility feature.