the in-between

Melika Panbehchi

Advisor: Sharleen Smith

“the in-between” is an interactive storytelling project that navigates the delicate, often contradictory spaces that exist between cultures, between geographies, and between identities. It is an exploration of the way culturally dualistic places—like Neukölln in Berlin, where Western notions of freedom intersect with deeply rooted Middle Eastern traditions—shape the self-expression of Middle Eastern queer and trans individuals.

Project Website Presentation
a life-sized traditional turkish teacup with a vulva at the opening and headphones coming out of the teacup/vulva

Project Description

"the in-between" is an interactive storytelling project that navigates the delicate, often contradictory spaces that exist between cultures, between geographies, and between identities. It is an exploration of the way culturally dualistic places—like Neukölln in Berlin, where Western notions of freedom intersect with deeply rooted Middle Eastern traditions—shape the self-expression of Middle Eastern queer and trans individuals.

It's about the never-ending search for home—both in the world and within one's own skin.

Embedded within the cup are audio snippets from oral history interviews I conducted with queer and trans Middle Eastern people currently navigating these neighborhoods in their day-to-day lives. These accounts come together, taking the shape of an iconic Turkish tea cup—فنجان کمر باریک—an object as deeply embedded across Middle Eastern cultures as it is in Neukölln’s streets. Always held between two fingers, this teacup is the perfect vessel for stories of those who, like me, exist between worlds.

The piece is an archive of voices, of stories that are often hidden or silenced. As visitors touch the vulva inside the teacup, these intimate stories are unlocked, revealing layered narratives of resilience, longing, and self-discovery. These voices map the hidden intersections of queerness, gender and diaspora, reflecting the complex ways in which identity is performed and negotiated in cities like Berlin and beyond.

This is a love letter to those who navigate these liminal spaces, to those who carve out homes where none were made for them. It is a testament to the ways in which our herstories, cultures, and desires can coexist—despite the never ending push and pull of opposition and harmony.

This is a living archive, a dynamic space of collective memory and resistance, and an invitation to those who, like me, are searching for home in the spaces between.

the opening of the teacup as a vulva made out of biomaterials and foam.

Technical Details

Through the use of a soundboard, touch sensors and conductive fabric, the inside of the teacup serves as a canvas for patches of textile buttons which activate the audio snippets and deliver them to the user via headphones. Uses biomaterials for the vulva.

Research/Context

More to come on this section.