Gallery serves up artistic iftar feast

DUBAI // Visitors to the Jam Jar Gallery in Dubai are in for an iftar treat when they break their fast each Saturday during Ramadan. Laid out before them will be a vibrant 20-metre long tablecloth covered with colourful dishes and surrounded by Iranian carpets, with a mound of succulent fruits at the centre. At this iftar feast, however, you can eat the tablecloth as well. Soffreh, which is the Farsi word for tablecloth, is an edible piece of artwork designed to celebrate the sweetness of the holy month and give an extra dimension to iftar.

The giant tablecloth is made from 200kg of sugar and the dishes laid within the sugar are freshly cooked by Gita Meh, the artist behind the tasty art installation. "The point of the sugar is symbolic, it represents the sweetness of people coming together for iftar. It also becomes marked with foot prints and finger marks from people taking part in the exhibition. These are visual memories of the iftar feast and leave the viewer nostalgic," said Ms Meh.

Eating and sharing in this way is an Iranian tradition not specifically reserved for Ramadan but in this case will represent the traditions that are so important during the holy month. "God gave us the Holy Quran during this month and so I wanted to give to the public through this installation," said Ms Meh, who also writes conceptual non-fiction. "I am trying to recreate some of the intimacy experienced during any soffreh meal as well as encouraging people to appreciate the interactive elements of art."

Ms Meh spends three days preparing each event, four hours of which are taken up laying 200kg of sugar on a plastic base for the tablecloth. "It is hard work and I have the help of at least four volunteers," she said. "But I don't mind, art is my job and also my passion." After the sugar has been spread and flattened, Ms Meh and her team put large bowls of cooked food, place settings and candles on the sugar. Fruits such as bananas, apples, plums and a watermelon are placed in the centre.

As soon as the call for the maghrib prayers begin at around 6.40pm, the visitors begin to take their places on the rugs around the soffreh and help themselves to a feast of lentil rice with onions, saffron, raisins and dates, an Iranian soup called ashreshte and a selection of sweet desserts. "I took my inspiration from the many soffreh feasts I saw women enjoying in Iran. It is my theory that in years gone by women expressed themselves most fully when they were around the dinner table. They would pray together, eat together and then make music and dance together.

"In some cultures this level of closeness is missing so I am trying to create it through my art." Around 150 people attended the first event on Saturday even though there was only place for 100. "It was amazing to see so many people from all different cultures there," she said. "Some had to stand or rotate their seating arrangements but everyone was made to feel so welcome. They all told me how much they loved not only being able to touch the art but to eat it too. It was a real success."

Any left-over food from the soffreh is donated to local mosques. The exhibition opens at 6pm and will take place on Sept 13, 20, 27. For more information visit www.gitameh.com or www.thejamjardubai.com @Email:aseaman@thenational.ae