CONTEMPORARY ART / VETERAN ART / SOCIAL RESEARCH / RECIPES

Tea is something that we all share. —Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Guantánamo torture survivor

Invitation to Tea compiles 48 tea recipes, stories, and traditions, one for each of the countries that have had citizens extralegally held at the US military prison in Guantánamo. Highlighting the resistance of the people imprisoned there — 780 since 2001 — the recipes are paired with images of porcelain cast Styrofoam cups inscribed with flowers, inspired by stories of these men carving into Styrofoam cups as a form of expression, survival, and resistance. Again and again, these men made a mark, created beauty, and asserted their humanity, undermining the carceral logic of Guantánamo. The tea recipes in this book, which vary from sweet and milky to astringent and spicy, are a celebration of this resistance and traditions passed down from generation to generation — traditions of comfort, medicine, generosity, and solidarity.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Michael Rakowitz, Aliya Hana Hussain, Laura Pitter, and Erika Rappaport