2018 | 2020
diptych
8-seat omakase room
potgieterstraat 47H amsterdam
gastronomy | installation | transdiscipline | experience | guerrilla
as my practice transitioned into the gastronomic realm and i had an opportunity to play with people's expectations through the playful medium of ice cream. while running my experimental ice cream shop ludo & hedo, i became more aware of the power food can have and how it can be used to build compelling experiences. then came an opportunity to rent a beautiful space in amsterdam west and i decided to explore the new-found medium even further. this led to the opening of diptych - an 8-seat omakase room, an immersive installation, which functions as a public space where my artistic vision is translated into a culinary experience. at diptych the fundamental principle is trust. omakase stands for
'i leave it up to you'. i asked my guests for trust and i did my best to create something special for them in return.
at diptych i served 11-course dinners using food as a vehicle to explore ideas and concepts that are important to me. i built a framework which allowed me to address the set of values i cherish, but now while using a different medium and taking on a guerrilla methodology. every detail within the framework was thoughtfully designed and has a hidden meaning, a response to the concerning conditions of the world.
there is a growing awareness that we live in times of rapid change and division. making humans and our planet step into an unstable path, leaving us feeling detached from our environment. consumerism, fast-paced economy, acceleration in technology, globalisation and climate change contribute to the feeling of disorientation. at diptych i built a space where these shifts can be experienced and certain resilience can be exercised.
to get an impression of diptych and ideas behind i recommend to watch a short documentary by vice magazine it gives an opportunity to catch some bits of the atmosphere i created.
impossibility of recognising the flavours, abstracted light, ambience, intimacy, music, cutlery, conversations with strangers, non-conventional plating, performative element, all these conditions provided a way for people to have a deeply personal, sublime experience without it being defined for them it being neither food nor art. up to you to decide. at diptych through tasting, sensing, thinking and relating i cultivated conditions through which connected and integrated understanding of the world can be practiced.
diptych was a wonderful journey beyond my expectations. the sincerity of connection and reaction which diptych triggered in people, taught me the importance of details, dedication, trust and power concealed behind pushing one's own boundaries.
explore diptych's natural manifestation by clicking on the logo
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