Kiều-Anh Nguyễn
My manager will continue to update after his floating
Recipe for the unbroken
Drawing, tissue paper, salt, ash, containers
Variable dimensions
The Collective School, Asia Art Archive (Hongkong / New York)
Viva ExCon, Antique (Philippines)
Originally started as a response to the archive of Viva ExCon in Asia Art Archive (Hongkong), the work is a recommendation for an archive method using salt as the witness and archival medium open to complex narratives, including speculations. An alternative approach for standard archiving materials is using unconventional, mundane elements from surroundings which its existence acts as an instant, improvised memory vessel, as it expands and is not limited to perceptions, hierarchy, and point of views of the narratives. Inspired by asín tibuok (“unbroken salt” in the Cebuano language), a rare artisanal sea salt made with fire, water, and ash in the Visayas, Recipe for the Unbroken is distributed through a set of a hand-drawn instruction printed on tissue papers. The work’s setting and design is various depending on the occasion or location of its appearance.
Each of the tissue paper is printed with a recipe for archiving through salt. Visitors can bring tissues home and start their archiving process.