2015

Various locations

Blackpool

 

In 16th century Japan, Sen no Riky­u developed wabi-cha, the ceremony in which tea is made, served and drunk as a simple ritual for body and mind – wabi meaning beauty found in simple things and cha meaning tea.

 

The Wabi-char project surveys and celebrates the aesthetics of tea drinking, adapting some of the principles of Japanese wabi-cha to explore regional and individual tea rituals in Blackpool & Wyre.

 

Highlighting the important social role that tea plays in everyday community life, the artist worked with Carers Trust Fylde Coast, Grow Blackpool and Memory Lane Club to record many tea rituals. A series of pamphlets were produced from the recordings to present these unique tea-drinking rituals and then distributed at various art events and community venues. 

 

At a final Banquet event at the Winter Gardens, tea was served in small ceremonies inspired by tea encounters. Tea cocktails, invented by Blackpool Young Carers, were also served.

 

https://wabichar.wordpress.com 

 

Commissioned by LeftCoast

Produced by They Eat Culture