Raluca WHWD

The Lunch Series is an ongoing project consisting of one on one interactions taking place in the house I am currently renting. [a brief description of the house would be useful- and what rooks do you use? S] The interactions usually involve two parts: cooking a meal together and working in the backyard of my room. [ where do you eat? what is the back yard like?- s]

Each lunch starts with the acceptance of the invitation and develops in accordance with the different discussions and relationship dynamics that occur. Up to this point, the invitees have been my current classmates and the activities ranged from rearranging objects already present in the garden to drawing, clay modeling, talking etc.

The project’s aim is not to stick to a strict format, but instead to generate personal experiences from common, daily-life activities. At the same time, its aim is also to open up a space outside of parameters that normally regulate the art world and/or the production of art works; no particular focus on form, no pressure of accomplishing an expected outcome.

Even if this project can develop in multiple ways, from widening the hyper-defined audience of artists to designing a particular set of activities or actions, the most pressing issue is that of leaving the place very soon. In this sense, I am not pondering on how to adjust the framework of the lunch series so that it can become integrated and relevant in any other context.

I Come in Peace is an online-based street diary of personal interactions in public space, made up of selections of materials I have gathered from my walks around Dutch cities, Rotterdam in particular. It ranges from longer term interventions to on the spot decisions to film or photograph certain people or settings and contains photography and video shots.

The online diary is currently private. On one hand, it functions as a subjective archive of public space interests, easily accessible and offering me the possibility to constantly update and reassess it. At the same time, I hope in time it will also become a manner of encompassing my practice in a broader context, seen more as a continuous stream of ideas happening under the same big umbrella of appropriating urban than the production of clearly defined works.

My ideas for its future development are related to the inclusion of written or recorded thoughts as a constant presence of the diary. The textual fragments could be integrated either in connection with certain materials or simply as a subjective reflection upon the role, the mechanisms and the dynamics of public space.