GROBAK PADI (AUSTRALIA/INDONESIA)
AN INTIMATE EXCHANGE BETWEEN CULTURES AND CITIES THROUGH A MULTIMEDIA FUSION OF FOOD, FILM AND DANCE, GROBAK PADI IS A LITTLE PIECE OF JAVA MANIFESTED IN THE HEART OF MELBOURNE.
For five days of the Festival, a delegation of gerobak food carts from the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta wend their way through Melbourne, bringing the flavours and culture of Java’s bustling street scene directly to our CBD.
Based at the vibrant Foxtel Festival Hub, grobak Padi brings together free multimedia art installations and contemporary dance with authentic Javanese street food – sold at modest prices – creating a cross-cultural dining experience like no other.
Like a staple diet for the soul, the rice of the padi field symbolises a way of life in Indonesia. Its humble sustenance reminds us to say thank you for the abundance we already have. While several gerobaks remain at the Festival Hub displaying video art inspired by the padi, others set out across the city, dispensing delicious Indonesian food. As they serve the hungry people of Melbourne, the carts show live video of gerobaks plying their trade in Yogyakarta, fostering an amicable culinary and cultural bond across the Timor Sea.
After sunset, the roving carts return to the Hub to serve up a free outdoor event featuring accomplished dancers Agung Gunawan and Tony Yap, with video-art by Michael Hornblow, transforming the space through the imagery, sound and movement of Indonesian life.
A deliciously cross-cultural performance piece, grobak Padi provides a unique opportunity to discover an ancient culinary tradition first-hand, and to experience the spirit that lies at the heart of today’s Indonesia.
(www.melbournefestival.com.au)
I've only recently begun working on cultural projects since arriving in Melbourne. I really enjoy learning the differences and combining traditions, creating art and entertaining people through unique combinations of cultures. This is my second project with an Indonesian core and i've not yet been to Indonesia!
Michael Hornblow devised the project while spending time in Indonesia, inspired by the street culture and the tradition of roadside food carts and street vendours, a humbling tradition that brings the people of Indonesia together through food, I don't think this tradition could be accepted long-term in the western world - so many rules and permits to overcome and obtain just for the 4 days Grobak Padi is live. Michael spent weeks filming on the streets for the video display on the gerobaks and has actually implemented tablets onto the gerobaks here and gerobaks in Jakarta so that the people at either end can wave to each other and eat their food together through visual technology. Very cool idea, such an exciting project to have watched develop - from the initial idea, to the actual gerobaks and bikes being delivered by sea freight straight from Indonesia, getting them fitted and painted, testing the cooking methods and tasting the food produced (yum) and now sourcing volunteers to help out during the festival.
Get down to Melbourne CBD sometime from the 17th - 21st October for some delicious food and an amazing cultural show!
Photos to follow soon...
Saya cinta kamu (I love you)
E Flyer: http://issuu.com/multiculturalarts/docs/eflyer_grobak_27_09_12?mode=window&pageNumber=1
