“The Beautiful Lady’s Lips” / Dilber Dudağı
Live Performance, 27 July 2017, 8:30 pm, Bröhan Museum, Berlin
In her subtle and witty performance, conceptual and performance artist Mehtap Baydu offered edible ‘kisses’ to museum visitors. This work references a traditional pastry from her Turkish heritage known as “Dilber Dudağı”, which translates as “The Beautiful Lady’s Lips”.
These little treats were prepared in front of the audience using gold-plated spoons that imprinted a three-dimensional lip onto the dough. Baydu created these spoons by casting the lips of six women from different national and cultural backgrounds. The resulting ‘Dilber Dudağı’ were then presented to visitors as a precious and intimate gift.
In “The Beautiful Lady’s Lips”, Baydu bridges Turkish and Western European traditions. The Ottoman era saw a tradition of associating particularly delicious foods with the beauty and sensuality of female body parts. While these names have largely fallen into disrepute in conservative circles today, Baydu’s work takes on a strong political dimension against this backdrop. Her artistic protest against the in- creasingly rigid moral constraints of contemporary Turkey is transformed into a sensual and palatable experience.
This performance was generously supported by SAHA – Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey.
The performance was part of the Summer Festival on 27 July, jointly organised by the Bröhan Museum, the Museum Berggruen and the Rathgen Research Laboratory of the National Museums in Berlin.
