Cup by Raimundas Malasaukas and Gabriel Lester – 2007
Not Our Cup of Tea [a stroll down memory lane]
Raimundas Malašauskas and Gabriel Lester propose a backwards journey
In response to the invitation to conceive a performative event – much like previous events, where Malašauskas invited Lester to join forces in staging such things as a sequence of speeches, weeklong improvised performances or to present a series of variety shows – the idea to reflect on these past events as an event of the present was born. As such an occasion as a journey trough time, where memories, people and places are reviewed, revisited and reintroduced into the present.
The term memory lane, subject of lyrics, narratives, journalism, film and television formats, is defined as a path that can be traveled along to revisit former times. This principle is the basis of the suggestion that a voyage in reverse can provide insight and content to the present or even the future. Simultaneously, the format of moving back to arrive in front or even beyond is a way to re-construct and re-live certain history by unfolding in reverse. Along this imaginary path the past events recalled by Malašauskas and Lester will be resurrected and become manifest in a format of a staged event where various media and invited guests will shape the backwards journey.
Spanning almost ten years, from the last stage of the 2001 Tour de France in Paris, passing half the globe and ending at the nearest possible memory in Brazil (which could be only a few nanoseconds before recollection) the reintroduction of the past will present itself as a assortment of remembered essentials along the path that is traveled a step back at a time.

2007 – Malašauskas and Lester enjoying the taste of sweet memories in the garden of Loris Gréaud
In the framework of the project Not Our Cup of Tea [a stroll down memory lane] Raimundas Malašauskas and Gabriel Lester will invite artist involved to a backwards journey. At the Sao Paulo biennial, several local people and artist present for the biennial exhibition will be re-invited. Also several artists will be invited to travel to Brazil in order to partake in the performances.












