Instruction:
Barak Asher

With the “BBQ”, everything rests on the man’s shoulders. This ceremony embodies not only the story of humanity, but the more personal story of us as a society in Israel. Barbecue ceremonies, which occur in different forms in many countries, tell the story of man’s mastery over nature from the beginning of history. They embody religious characteristics of sacrifice and point to the place of the man – the hunter – in both family and society. The Israeli barbecue ceremony has adopted these traits and adapted them to Israeli culture, society, and history. 

“BBQ” is an imaginary ceremony commemorating masculinity: the Israeli man, turned from a hunter into a soldier, hunts his meal in line at the supermarket butcher; defeats nature with lighter fluid and a match; and protects his family by conquering and marking his territory – territory for which he is willing to fight other men like him, all for a few hours in one of Israel’s forests.

Mankal is a kit for the “BBQ”: a folding chair that can be turned into a backpack containing a grill, cooler, coals, meat fork, oil, gasoline, lighter, bottle opener, red-and-white caution tape, waving instrument, and half an onion.

Material and techniques: aluminum piping, plastic, sheet metal, textiles

Photo: Michael Shvadron