Join us for this last session of the year where we introduce slow-simmered Cantonese herbal soup traditions through a shared commitment to speculative, intersectional, and embodied technologies of care. In this hands-on session, soup-making becomes both a medium and a method, which is a living technology that carries kinship, memory, metabolic and cultural knowledge. We will engage in a practice that resists extractive logics of efficiency, reclaiming domestic and sensory processes as rich sites of knowledge-making.

Cantonese Soup as a Fluid Archive is an ongoing artistic project through which Biyi explores kinship as a form of care that extends beyond blood relations, encompassing chosen, circumstantial, and interdependent forms of connection. From sensory memory to cultural knowledge and bodily nourishment, Biyi asks: how might we rethink kinship, not only through ancestry or genetics, but through the act of eating? What kinds of relationships become possible through shared metabolic entanglements, gendered labour, and the quiet wisdom of culinary care?

The act of touching, smelling, and tasting becomes an exchange between human and non-human ingredients, between past and present, between care as ritual, care as infrastructure and care as cultural making. Through shared gestures and collective nourishment, this workshop opens a space for reimagining what technology can mean when rooted in relationality, reciprocity, and lived experience.

We’ll begin with an introduction to Chinese medicinal herbs sourced from the city’s Chinese grocery stores, exploring their uses and meanings in traditional Cantonese soup-making. In this special deep-autumn session, Biyi will explain the core principles and key ingredients of Cantonese soup and guide participants in tailoring a soup that reflects the season of deep autumn.

Participants will break into small groups to create their own versions of herbal soup, guided by Biyi. You’ll be encouraged to experiment, incorporate your own chosen (and brought) ingredients, and weave in personal memories and interpretations. While the soups simmer, Biyi will share stories of growing up with Cantonese soup, the domestic practice of traditional Chinese medicine, and her creative journey as a Cantonese migrant.

The session will conclude with a communal tasting, discussion, and sharing not only the soups created together but also the memories, stories, and recipes infused into each bowl.

*Bios

Biyi Zhu is an interdisciplinary artist, performer and researcher born in Southeast China and based in the Netherlands, who works with video art, documentary and technology-integrated performance. Based on her own experiences, her work explores mobility, migration and coexistence, reflecting on how these forces shape identities, relationships and socio-political realities.
(https://nieuwevide.com/biyi-zhu-bitsray/)

Practical information

When: Friday 21 November 2025 from 14:30 – 17:30
Where: Constant Studio, Jetsesteenweg 388 Chaussée de Jette, 1081 Koekelberg, Brussels
Accessibility

: The Studio is fully accessible for wheelchairs. More info about accessibility here
Language: 
The workshop will be held mainly in English.
Registration: Places are limited so, registration is required. please email imane@constantvzw.org

Here are some suggestions to guide your choice between bringing meat or vegetables:
• If you bring vegetables, please avoid strong-smelling vegetables like onions, garlic, or coriander.
• If you have any specific questions or are uncertain about the Chinese herb ingredients, feel free to reach out to Biyi. (bzhu@bitsray.co) She’ll be happy to help you!
• If you bring meat, preferably white meat, such as chicken, pork, or fish. (but think of dietary restrictons of other participants like halal or vegetarian)