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cultureanditsnumerousdimensionsareboththesubject
matterandthetechniqueofAnnaKrólikiewicz’sart.Inone
oftheinterviews,shesaid:“Allthatisconnectedtofood,
andtoallthatiscloselyrelatedtofood,namelyhunger
andfasting;allthatisrelatedtocustom,habit,law,formal
etiquette,divineritual,regulationandrestriction,poison
andtaboo;allthatacquiresasocialcontext,thatiscon-
nectedtoreligiouspurityofJews,Indians,Muslimsand
tothehiddenlinktohygieneandsanitarycodes;finally,
allthatisrelatedtoconsumptionandtheleftoversfrom
a“feast.”Thetablelaidwithanabundanceoffoodand
putondisplay,andgettingridoftheleftoversandtidying
up,thespacebeyongcelebration—Iuseallthatinstead
ofthedrawingtechnique.”1
ForWhat’sCooking?exhibitionAnnaKrólikiewiczcreated
fourinstallationsintheformoftableswhichwereplaced
inthecentreofeachofthefoursectionsoftheexhibition.
Thefirsttableiscoveredwithawhitetableclothanditstop
iscoveredwithasupernaturallylongandtwistedceramic
challahwrappedaroundtheentiretable.Thistablerefers
totradition,itsomnipresence,continuityandduration;its
surrealformpointstothesymbolicroleplayedbyfoodas
acarrierofspiritualandreligiouscontent.Thesecondtable
boastsacylindricalforminwhichcolourfulseeds—beans,
lentils,grain,peasandspices—twirlandmix.Itsymbolises,
ononehand,thelocalityofJewishcuisineintheDiaspora—
itsrootednessinthefruitsoftheearthandtheclimate,
andontheother,itscharacteristicconstantmovement,
opennessandexchange.Thethirdtable,locatedinthe
centreofthesectiondedicatedtomodernity,bringsto
mindametropolitanskylinedottedwithskyscrapersor
acafétablesetwithfancydrinks:adozenlampswithover-
flowingcolouredliquidsareplacedonametallictabletop.
Metamorphosestakingplaceinsidethelampssymbolically
alludetothetransformationsandnewinterpretationsof
Jewishculinaryculture,whichthispartoftheexhibitionis
about.Finally,inthefourthtable,dedicatedtotherem-
iniscencesandmemory,theartistagainusesasurreal,
oneiricform:thistablehasmanylegsandeachoneisdif-
ferent.Indeed,itisactuallymanytables,manyindividual
stories.Thismultiplicityisalsosymbolisedbythepileof
tableclothsonthetable—ironed,neatlyfoldedandfaded,
eachtableclothcarriesastoryfromthepastthatwewill
neverknowinitsentirety.Tableclothesthatareripewith
newstories—aswellasthoseperfectlycleanthathavenot
yetbeenused—covertheoldoneswhichcarrystoriesso
datedthattheyoftenescapeourmemory.
Wedohopetheexhibitionandthevolumethataccompa-
niesitwillnotonlyallowouraudiencetounderstandwhat
Jewishcuisineisreallyabout,butwillalsocontributeto
betterunderstandingofJewishculture,religionandhistory.
Theywillshowwhatindeed“iscooking”underneaththe
surface.Wewillalsoshare—bothintheexpositionandin
thevolume—anumberofrecipesforthemostpopular
AshkenazicandSephardidishes.Theserecipesconsti-
tutemerelyatinysampleoftheimmenselydiverseJewish
cuisine;theymay,however,encouragefurtherculinary
exploration.Wehopevisitorstotheexhibitionwillbe
inclinedtoreachforoneofalargenumberofcookbooks
dedicatedtoJewishcuisinethatwerepublishedinrecent
decades.PerhapsthankstoWhat’sCooking?exhibition,
thecontextfromwhichthesebooksoriginatewillbecome
familiartoawiderpublic.
1
ttp://narracje.eu/narracje2012/artysta/anna-
krolikiewicz-polska/accessed8XII2021.
