210 canal st, rm 310, new york, ny
7 / aida sulova: tea for glissant
june 27, 4-5.30pm
outlines for a dispersed commons
performance-installation
the final performance contribution to 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 at gmtc - golden monkey trading company 金猿商社 is 𝙩𝙚𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙩 by artist 𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮 on june 27.
tea in central asia is a symbol of hospitality. it is served to everyone who comes into one’s home. through the use of domestic architecture, the performance initiates a negotiation between visibility and compliance.
during 𝙩𝙚𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮 focuses on the act of pouring tea through multiple layers of metal strainers suspended vertically between the teapot and the cup. with each layer, residue is removed, the flow slows down, and what does not pass is withheld, turning filtration into a metaphor for erasure and cleansing. the stubborn tea leaves, the misfits, the elements that resist smooth passage, become trapped within the filters.
thinking closely with the martinian poet and philosopher édouard glissant’s concept of opacity and his reflections on the exhausting labor of over-explaining oneself in order to become legible and visible, 𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮 contemplates a tension between two opposing desires: the desire to percolate through systems of control, translation, institutionality, and the desire to remain true to oneself, within one’s own context, resisting total transparency.
𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗮 is kyrgyzstan-born, new york-based artist and educator. working across sculpture, fiber art, and painting, her practice is centered on material intelligence of wool, metal, wood, and found domestic objects that she uses to explore care, repair, and the human and animal entanglements.
ⓒ gmtc 2025