Dinner

Yesterday I cycled to Qom. Here I found yet again a great host: Edelat, cycle tourist, journalist/translator on social issues (unfortunately there's not much difference between both professions in this country) and master in Teakwondo (black belt, third dan). He asked me if I felt unsafe when we went for a late night walk. I did not.

How did I get to know Edelat? For this we have to go back to Tehran, where Ali and I visited a conference organised by the 'Messengers of Peace and Friendship'. If you think this was a boring affair with endless speeches, you're wrong. The contributions consisted of poems, music and stories. But what I am getting at, is that this is where I met with Nasim and Jafar. They have travelled the world together by bicycle, planting trees wherever they were allowed to (in the Netherlands they planted trees in Haarlem and The Hague; their website http://rmc4peace.blogfa.com/ can be found under crossings). Nowadays they have a television program about traveling on Channel 1 of Iran and organise all sorts of meetings for active Iranians (mountaineering, rock climbing, cycling). They gave me the contact details of their friends in other cities. Like this Edelat was waiting for me at the city gate of Qom, which nowadays consists of highway police levying toll for the new road. When we got to his house, his sister had cooked a meal worthy of Michelin stars. So much flavour! And so many different tastes... Iranian home cooked meals are like art. Edible art.

Today Edelat has to work in the morning, so he took me to his office where he gave me a work station. This gives me the opportunity to share something that was shown to me some days ago. It's a 'no name' work of art, as this is my friend's style. He doesn't like to claim. When I asked if it was a problem if I would write about the project, the answer was that it wouldn't matter. I took that as a 'no'.

I think it does matter, as the nature of the work is to raise awareness. Awareness of the cruelty of the world, as its creator called it. And what medium is better to spread a certain idea than the Web?

My friend has a normal job, but in his free time he writes scientific papers (complicated mathematical stuff; its description entered my right ear, and left straight away through the left), creates conceptual art and goes out to nature. These things are his, and his alone, which is why he doesn't want to earn a living with them. As soon as something becomes a job, be it as a commercial artist or a professional scientist, you have to compromise.

The work consists of plates, glasses, cutlery, a carpet (that serves as table-cloth in Iran; people normally eat whilst sitting on the ground) and some wooden trays with which the dinner set can be transported. But this is no ordinary tableware. The plates have images of starving African children and so do the glasses. The spoons are shaped like the hand of a beggar and the forks are like very skinny hands (skin on flesh, with sharp nails). The carpet is a traditional Iranian one. The idea is to give the set to a friend, who will together with his or her family and/or friends have a meal with it. After the meal they get the opportunity to write about the experience in an accompanying book. Then they pass it on to next person, who will have a meal with his or her family/friends. This process will repeat itself until the book is full. The book then is the work of art. The emotions of people captured. Emotions that concern the cruelty of the world.

How do we produce food? How much do we eat? What do we eat? Are people in control of the resources that can be found in their habitat? And how are they divided?

My friend sets his work free and doesn't desire to see the result. He asked me if I could see any improvements. I told him that I think the work is perfect as it is, but that it is a pity that the result won't be known by more people. Why not adding an address to the last page, to which the final user can send it so that the pages can be scanned and put out world wide? It can still be no name, but more people would be conscious. He would consider.