In many Middle Eastern and Balkan cultures, people read the swirling shapes left in coffee grounds after drinking. These dark, drifting forms are believed to reveal signs, symbols, and whispers of what lies ahead. These traditions look forward; the embodied act of making looks backward and inward — both are attempts to find pattern in what refuses to be fully legible. For me, the process of making coffee prints echoed tectonic upheavals: volcanic eruptions, meteoric collisions, floods, ice ages and long spells of drought as I actively swirled, tipped and dabbled with morning coffee pourings. These original coffee pourings — induced by perhaps one too many cups of coffee — are accompanied by texts inspired by my exploration of how we ‘make meaning’ through stories of origin, myth, catastrophe and fable.
This exhibition is located at Handmade Coffees | Old Gaol | 40 Somerset Street
Artist Biography
Ingrid Schudel is an associate professor at Rhodes University whose artistic practice combines photography, eco-printing, and natural dyes. Inspired by the natural world, her work explores emergence, chance, and the stories people create to make meaning of their lives and surroundings.
Credits
Artist, writer and designer: Ingrid Schudel
- Daily during the Festival 09:00 to 17:00
