Langkasuka: “Cook Book”
by Roslisham Ismail (Ise)
Artist Roslisham Ismail (Ise)’s work centers on his personal interactions with different communities. Each of his projects — which include installations, publications, animations, collages, participatory events, and the artist space Parking Project (which he runs out of his apartment) — celebrate dialogue and diversity. Informed by comics, films and graffiti, his irreverent ‘superfictions’ document local histories that often run counter to official narratives.
For the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT7), Ise presented a cookbook inspired by time spent with a number of families in his home state of Kelantan, renowned for its unique cuisine, which is strongly influenced by neighboring Thailand. The cookbook also traces the history of the cuisine to the ancient Langkasuka kingdom. Sharing recipes and stories from private homes, Ise’s book provides a revealing and delicious window into different lives, tapping into broader social, cultural and economic questions through the universal, yet highly specific, process of buying, cooking and eating food.
With additional essays by Azzaha Ibrahim, Nur Hanim Khairuddin, and Nuraini Juliastuti.
– Text from the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art APT Archive