Kitchen : Comfort By Kai Hamill
Kitchen : Comfort By Kai Hamill
Preface Hello! Welcome to this book. A book is meant to be held, pages are supposed to be touched and turned, but such experiences with a communal object have been on hold for over a year now. The contents of this book are for now only able to be shared in this less intimate online format, but I still urge you to let this book into the space you are in. This book is with you, and you are with this book. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been bound to our homes. Perceptions of both time and place have been changed, warped to meaninglessness. We suddenly work, study, sleep, eat, and relax in the same space. vii
We have been forced into a strange intimacy with our homes. Even before the pandemic, I was interested in the mundane. I find an inherent sense of familiarity and comfort in the items I spend my days with. My appreciation of the home and its contents has only been strengthened by the extended time I have spent being unable to experience life outside of my apartment’s walls. I am using this book as a way to reflect on and investigate my relationship with everyday objects, which emanates from the time we spend with them, and they with us. I envision this book as the first in a series of works that will be titled Mundane Investigations. Each part of this series will be devoted to a different room in a home, and the everyday objects that make up those rooms.
I could also see myself going outside of this and creating works that draw from the public sphere and its mundane charm. We will see. For now, we start with the kitchen. I am happy to have you with me as I start this journey. I thank you for reading this book, for welcoming my work and my words into your world.
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Dedication To my parents, my grandfather Bapa, my older sister Lee and her husband Steph, my older brother Grant, his wife Carly and their baby on the way, my twin Lucy and my wonderful roommates. In memory of Bonnie Hamill “Mama.”
2021 Kai Hamill All rights reserved. Designed by me. Typed by me.
Contents Preface .................................... vii Dedication .............................. x The Kitchen Cabinet ........... 1 The Fridge .............................. 17 Pots and Pans ........................ 27 Mugs and Chairs ................. 37 The Sink ................................. 53 Stove and Oven ................... 75 Acknowledgements ........... 90 Colophon ............................... 92
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The Kitchen Cabinet
1
The kitchen cabinet is where we begin. It serves as an anchor in this room we have come to call the kitchen. According to Merriam-Webster, the word kitchen comes from the Latin verb coquere, meaning “to cook.” From the verb coquere came later the Latin noun coquina, meaning “a kitchen.” With some changes in pronunciation, coquina came into Old English as cycene. This became Middle English kichene, and finally modern English kitchen.
From this etymology I remember that at its root, a kitchen is a room to cook things in. But it is really much more than that. 3
5
I like a cabinet that is well acquainted with its users. The inhabitants of an apartment build a rapport with the cabinet, learning how to open and close its doors, and how they want to organize their things within it. I would not find the cabinet so interesting if it were empty. An empty cabinet implies an empty apartment, void of movement. But even then, there are traces of past residents. Sometimes an invisible residue with only the sense of being in the presence of something old. I have great respect for the kitchen cabinet and its endless and thankless functionality.
A lot of the everyday things I am interested in are containers. They hold something and are themselves designed to be held in some capacity. A kitchen cabinet’s door, for example, is the perfect size. Not too heavy, not too thick, and easy to open. Behind this door, the cabinet holds many things. Shelves serving as avid collectors. Shelves serving as avid collectors.
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The accumulation of pots and pans over time. Swapping of old for new. Stacking and re-stacking of pans. Clink. Lids meet each other. Brief moments of movement. This all happens in a singular cabinet.
A cabinet’s foundation is static, unmoving. Its rigid shelves and large cavities invite pots, pans, lids, and a rolling pin to shuffle through their cycle of use.
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Shuffling, shifting, moving.
Opening, removing, closing.
Opening, replacing, closing.
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Secured in darkness, the accumulated kitchenware rests in the shell of a cabinet until they are needed again.
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Fridge
17
There are a lot of similarities between a fridge and cabinet. A fridge is just a cold cabinet. Perishable food items temporarily reside on its shelves. A hole waits for a new carton of eggs that will look exactly like the old one.
19
A light comes on when the door is opened. Cool air escapes, exposing butter and meat to the outside world.
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All mundane objects are designed, their each curve is intentional and made for a human to hold. We habitually open the fridge door and even in a morning zombie state we can grab the jug of milk and open it. Our hand has done this many times. It becomes a mindless task.
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Pots and Pans
27
I like consistency. I like routine. I like predictability. This is what mundane objects are to me. They are known when everything else is unknown.
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A hollow container, with spots of rust on its metal shell. The pot huddles in a cabinet, vacant yet not alone.
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And a pan, like a shallow pool,
a surface for simmering onions and garlic.
This smell now graces the kitchen air.
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Mugs and Chairs
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Rhythmic crackling and crunching, coffee being ground up, unchanging from one day to the next.
Routine.
What mug should I use today? Hopefully I cleaned the one I used yesterday.
39
My hand falls naturally under a mug’s handle. An effortless and soft grasp encases this morning’s brew. It is not quite cold enough yet. I’ll allow the mug more time to adjust.
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So many little acts. Short bits of time that build into a day, into a life. We experience life through time, and mundane objects, such as a mug, are our fellow travelers. Gracefully Changing. Becoming hot, cooling down. Being filled and emptied. Being held and let go of. Occasionally being chipped or scraped. We must be gentle. This mug, much like everything else in this kitchen, has become like an old friend. Someone I know, am happy to see, and barely have to catch up with to feel as if no time has passed.
Every morning, I sit in the same chair and drink out of the same mug. There is comfort in this sameness. Wonderfully familiar. I consume what the mug gives me. A mundane transaction of energy. Every time I lift the mug, it is lighter than before, gradually becoming empty with each sip.
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Hello chair, you hold me well. I am held by a chair and a mug is in turn held by me. Coffee is held by the mug, then slowly consumed and held by my body.
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A magnetic force draws me unknowingly to the chair’s hard seat and ribbed back. My body is welcomed. A peaceful seat, content.
I sit soundly, with mug in hand.
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The Sink
53
No kitchen is complete without a sink. I have found a fascination with the sink that I cannot explain. So simple, yet so beautiful. Running water comes effortlessly out of its spout, providing a steady stream in which to wash my hands and plates. I am extremely lucky to have such easy access to clean and consistant water. A sink sophisticatedly hides this wonder. We don’t tend to think about where this water comes from other than from the sink. Sponges and soap are also nearby, calm and alert.
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Composed and solid curves form a basin. The sink sits firmly in the kitchen counter, quietly empty.
57
You know your sink. You know its color, its depth, its material, and how to regulate its temperature.
Your sink knows you too.
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Stove and Oven
65
You have to be patient with the stove and oven. A stove more so than an oven. Each stove is different. You have to work with it. Adapt to its natural attributes. A knob turns. The stove begins its heating process. Its surface becomes animate. It becomes active. A shift in state.
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There is only so much room in the kitchen, even less room on a stove. The stove and oven both force cooperation onto its users. Multitasking is possible on a stove, its four burners equipped for simultaneous use. But only one person can use the oven at a time. To make the most of these appliances, people must work in tandem with the stove and with each other.
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The Kitchen
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A lot of learning happens in the kitchen. Learning how to bake cookies and banana bread, how to crack an egg, and how to clean up after yourself. In a kitchen chair, one learns the value of community and the challenges of algebra homework. Cabinets, a fridge, pots and pans. Mugs, chairs, a sink, a stove, and an oven. These are just some of what makes up a kitchen. The kitchen is a refuge, in the purest sense. Through the making of this book I have remembered delicate memories and formed a stronger bond to this space that will always make me feel seen.
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And now, for once, it can be seen too.
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Acknowledgements This book would not have been possible without the amazing and unwavering support of family, friends, classmates, and professors. I would like to first thank my Mom and Dad for always encouraging my love for art, and for paying for all of the supplies and tuition that I needed for these past four years. I am beyond lucky to have you both cheering me on. To my siblings, thank you all for loving me throughout my self discovery and for being there for me always. None of the people I have mentioned would be here were it not for my outstanding grandparents, who we call Mama and Bapa. Mama was a light like no other and I miss her dearly.
I dedicated this book in her memory but I wish more than anything that I could share this accomplishment with her. To my friends, thank you for believing in me. I appreciate you all giving me breaks when needed from this nine month long project. The same goes for my roommates. I am grateful to share this kitchen with you. You have kept me sane in this bizarre world.
I would also like to thank my Integrative Project professors Stephanie Rowden and Kelly Murdoch-Kitt, as well as Martha Daghlian, our incredible GSI.
All of the feedback I got from you was extremely helpful and was crucial to the creation of this final piece. You all guided me and pushed me, and for that, I thank you. Finally, I would like to thank Jennifer Metsker for her brilliant writing tips, tricks, and edits. Thanks also to Jamie Vander Broek for introducing me to the amazing world of artist books and book binding.
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Colophon This book was printed on backed white Unryu 80 g/m2 paper and printed on a laserjet printer. The images in this book are scanned from monotype prints created on Masa paper with Bone Black Etching Ink. The font used throughout this book is Proforma Book 14pt, which was chosen for its similarities to a typewriters font with nice serifs. Comared to the other fonts I considered, I thought Proforma Book fit my prints and the tonality of my words best. Legibility was also of utmost importance to me. importance to me.