Pierre Sernet and One
Pierre Sernet is a New York based conceptual artist and photographer. Starting from 2001, he had created a group of photographs entitled One, sometimes also referred to as Guerrilla Tea (Fig. 1). In the series, the artist invites random guests from various cultural backgrounds to share a bowl of tea with him. The event happens in a stylised Japanese tea room in the shape of a cube constructed of metal and wood. The cube is placed in multiple unexpected locations: an underground video arcade in Japan (Fig. 2), a favela in Rio, the Great Wall of China (Fig. 3), a busy sidewalk in Manhattan, the Thar desert in India, or the Charles de Gaulle airport (Fig. 4). A shot from a distance is taken to capture the background and the tea room where Sernet is performing a traditional tea ceremony. The artist has studied the formal Japanese tea ceremony at a school in New York and is capable of practicing the ritual by himself. By juxtaposing incompatible environments, he reminds both the viewers who are part of the happening and those who are looking at the execution of the idea of space. The One project has created a three-layer space — the cube, the space outside the cube, and the space the audiences reside in, enabling the viewers to perceive the collision and blending between different cultures.
The cube itself is a conceptual space. The scaffold-like structure made up of twelve wooden sticks connected by metal patches created a relatively enclosed space. Adding a tatami mat and simple teawares in the room, Sernet means to remind viewers of the mobility and temporariness of the space of the cube. The contrast between the worlds inside and outside the cube is also demonstrated by the sense of time. The setting could be a calm nature view (Fig. 5) or a bustling city glance, but the event that happens in the cube remains identical across the whole series. Time seems slower or even still for performers in the middle of the tea ceremony. In some photographs, including ones shot in New York City (Fig. 6) and a Paris airport, the artist blurs out the moving figures and objects in the background to represent the idea of higher speed and faster pace. Nevertheless, the boundary between the space inside and outside the cube is not clearly defined, as there is no partition wall actually dividing the space. When the viewers are invited to the tea room, they bring their own cultural and religious values into it. The cultural elements (such as the garments) associated with their identities encounter the traditional Japanese culture represented in the tea set. As they step into the tea room, the surrounding environments come in with them. The wind, the sound, and the odor supplement the space inside the cube colliding with the cultural meaning prescribed by every tool and gesture that appears throughout the ceremony. The viewers are encouraged to question the cube’s opposition or similarities to the diverse environment in which it is placed and to see each of these spaces in a new and different way.
For viewers who are lucky enough to take part in the tea-drinking performance, the room is a space for their mindfulness as well. Each guest fills “Sernet’s empty cube with his or her own mental reactions and constructs.” The cube is a tangible container where they stay and engage in a spiritual commitment. Tea is the art that connects the viewer and the artist, bringing about a shared space for equal communication and peace of mind. Such peacefulness suggests that “under the right circumstances, even apparently incompatible worlds and philosophies can be productively brought together.” Meanwhile, the cube is also a lens for them to observe the outer world. Sernet wants the viewer to “question the nature of spaces and cultures” while witnessing different cultural values intertwining with each other.
Most viewers inspect the One project through photographs and act like outsiders to the event. Space is clarified not only in the pictures but also in the space where they are encountered by the audiences. Another layer of space is thus formed — the world where the viewers exist. While looking at the photographs, the viewers blend the culture linked to their identities and environments into the artwork. As French philosopher Guy Debord points out, the essence of such spectacle is externality which refers to the dispossession of one’s own being. The viewers may not be aware of it, but their externality frames another dimension to the artwork as a matter of fact. The uniqueness of their space collides and merges with the two worlds shown in the photographs, adding to the richness of culture values in Sernet’s project.
There is a Japanese idiom called “Ichi-go ichi-e,” which describes a cultural concept of “treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment.” Through both the performance and the photographs, Serret wants to disclose the core of the Japanese tea ceremony: the “peace, togetherness, creativity, playfulness, lightness, insight, and gratitude for every fleeting encounter with people and nature.” The Guerrilla Tea project aims to convey the idea that tea is the art of everyday life. The distinctions between art and life are erased in his artwork; the everyday and historical structure of the event is used as a vehicle of purely artistic purpose. The series creates a powerful visual impact, offering an optimistic message of peaceful and harmonious coexistence. Eventually, these seemingly incompatible spaces are “in fact based on similar universal values” that allow various mindsets and cultures to cohabit together.
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