2, 3.12
The Moon in your Mouth
Samah Hijawi
The Moon in your Mouth is a work that explores kinship, and the interconnectivity of human and non-human beings through astrology and the foods we eat. Stating from the ancient Arabic Hermitic phrase:
No Doubt it is true,
that which is above is from that which is below,
and that which is below is from that which is above,
it worked the wonders from one,
as all things come from one by means of one considered act,
its father is the sun, its mother is the moon,
the wind carried it in her womb, the earth fed it,
father of talismans, keeper of wonders, perfect in power
This ancient philosophical understanding for the larger cosmology of interconnectedness, guided scientists, farmers, artists and emperors alike. In this performance Samah Hijawi takes this spiritual phrase as a starting point to unravel ancient cosmologies and connects it with the food on our table. As we search for ways to re-tell the story of human life, Samah looks at ancient cosmologies and how the planets in the sky were part of everyday life; when nobody wanted to upset Saturn, or try to stand in the destructive path of Mars!
Mapping the Mediterranean all the way to Central Asia, Samah connects geographies and food with the stars. As she invites the audience to share a meal, she carefully weaves a personal story from her place of birth, unraveling an intricate web of the unlikely connections of the foods we eat with planets in the skies.
Samah Hijawi is a multimedia artist whose projects are deeply rooted in historical narratives. Her work attempts to re-imagine our contemporary lives outside of the radicalized and polarized debates that drive our lives today. Hijawi’s works have previously been shown at De Brakke Grond, Marres, Kunstensfestivaldesarts, KANAL Centre Pompidou, Vooruit Gent, AM Qattan Foundation Palestine, Darat al Funen, and other venues. Among others, she collaborated with Ola El-Khalidi and Diala Khasawneh in Makan Art Space (2003–2016), an independent contemporary art space in Amman. With Shurqu Harb and Toleen Tou, she co-curated the platform The River has Two Banks (2012–2017), initiated to talk about the distance and proximity between Jordan and Palestine. Kaaitheater previously hosted her Kitchen.Table in 2023.