Sour Kanna, all that is solid melts into a mass of sticky, dark, mess

Sour Kanna, all that is solid melts into a mass of sticky, dark, mess, 2023
HD single channel video.

Tan explores the material, physical and situated histories of cocoa, working from personal experiences to cultural tropes. Taking the melting point of chocolate as a definitive moment that defines good chocolate from bad (that it melts in your mouth and not in your hands) it is this very point that also divides cocoa growers (producers in the south) from consumers (in the north). This pattern of differentiation is explored in the work through the motif of the melting point, where all that is solid melts into a mass of sticky, dark, mess.

The work was commissioned by Caroline Ha Thuc as part of The Asian Cocoa Project and exhibited in Vietnam , Hong Kong as part of the exhibition IN STRANGER LANDS: COCOA'S JOURNEYS TO ASIA that featured 20 newly commissioned artworks created by established artists working across Asia, this touring exhibition aims to give visibility to the many untold stories about Asian cocoa and chocolate through an array of embodied, emotional, imaginative, and conceptual artistic expressions. Conceived as a collective and creative research project, it attempts to highlight the complexities and challenges at stake behind chocolate bars. Curated by Caroline Ha Thuc.

• https://www.theasiancocoaproject.com/tea...
• https://www.theasiancocoaproject.com/tea...
• https://www.theasiancocoaproject.com/exh...