Sugar Cubes explores the twin histories of Tiense Suiker and the Kahrizak sugar factory. The factory in Tienen, where the famous sugar cube was invented, is a story of success. It is still an economic powerhouse for the city and country, and members of the family that founded it are some of the richest Belgians alive. In stark contrast, the factory in Kahrizak, that was founded with the help of Belgian industrialists, now is a ruin. A place that has become hard to find, crumbling behind old walls and newer residential areas that hide it away from sight. The site is listed, officially recognised as one of the earliest examples of industrial architecture in Iran. But in reality, it is unprotected, a forgotten slice of history, a connection people no longer remember and care for. How have these two factories touched the lives of their surroundings?

About

Sana Ghobbeh is an Iranian-born artist and artistic researcher based in Brussels. In her work she explores the lives and impact on lives of specific sites of infrastructure, often located in Iran. In her transdisciplinary approach Sana incorporates insights from her studies in architecture and research methods she developed as a visual artist. Her long-term research "Performing Spaces - an exploration on urban structures and their inner-narratives” is an attempt to evoke diasporic urban spaces through a practice that layers narratives so a complex landscape might emerge in the audience’s perception. By weaving together layers of archival documentation, individual memories, anecdotal interviews, minute details, historical facts and personal imagination, Ghobbeh aims to offer not just informative mapped-out knowledge of a place but also a tangible sense of the maybe forgotten politics and poetics that are alive within it.

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