EAT
Through sculpture and film this thought provoking collection focuses on food issues; exploring the power of food on our physical and mental well being.
EAT focuses on the plethora of food issues currently in vogue. The fundamental role of food to sustain life has been overshadowed by the glamour of choice, quality and quantity that pervades our society. Its consumption structures our lives whilst the choices of food we make affect our mental and physical health. For many people their choice of food reflects their lifestyle and is a way in which they present themselves to others.
Despite being more informed about food than ever before there is a national problem with obesity. Our greed and wealth has created a society that is badly fed and poorly nourished. The quality of diet adopted by many has led to a dramatic rise in obesity both in adults and children: around 75% of adults are overweight and a quarter of adults and children are clinically obese. The National Health Survey statistics revealed that the figure for the number of obese children has doubled in the last ten years.
30 000 deaths each year in England are directly caused by obesity.
In contrast to the West’s wealth and abundance of food, many parts of the developing world suffer from low food supplies and poor quality produce. 700 million people do not have enough to eat and yet there is enough food in the world for everyone.
EAT is a multi sensory experience which may trigger contradictory feelings of attraction and repulsion.
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Feed Me 3 in Ulverston Animal Auction Mart | |
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Feed Me 3 detail | |
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Eat… The neon sign traditionally signposts cheap entertainment and sustenance. Its intense luminosity and flashing mode attracts and beckons the passer by. In ‘Eat…’ the neon sign format is harnessed to question our eating habits through sequenced messages written in light. Materials neon light on Diabond box Dimensions 61 x 91 x 13.5 cm |
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Bad Taste A row of tongues mounted at ‘average mouth height’. Western society has developed a taste for excessively sweet and salty foodstuffs. Refined sugar is considered to be one of the most harmful foods: it does not contain any fibre, minerals, proteins, fats or enzymes, only empty calories. Too much salt can cause hypertension. In England a third of adults suffer from hypertension. 75% of salt in our diet comes from manufactured foods. These preferences are learned, they are not innate. Materials:
metal dessert spoons, rubber, mdf |
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Nourish The fat of the land Materials: old table forks, compost, paint, timber box frame |
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Killer Obesity can reduce your lifespan by nine years. Hunger kills 12 million children every year. Materials: human hair, rubber, cloth, old table fork, rope, foam, timber box frame |
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Feed Me 1 The simplicity and scale of ‘Feed Me I’ aims to draw attention society’s attitude to food consumption. In Britain around 75% of adults are overweight with nearly a quarter of adults and children now classed as clinically obese. Film (2.4 minute loop) projected onto wall 2.5m wide shows giant swollen belly. Director Jac Scott, filmmaker Tony Wilkinson, Red Onion Video www.redonion.tv In stark contrast the juxtaposed ‘Feed Me 2’ has the same request – feed me. |
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Feed Me 2 In ‘Feed Me 2’ the western style table forks ironically symbolise the outstretched arms of the starving millions in the developing world. 700 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. Despite there being enough food in the world for everyone to have a satisfying and balanced diet, hunger kills 12 million children every year. In stark contrast the juxtaposed ‘Feed Me 1’ has the same request – feed me. Materials old table forks, timber Dimensions 97 x 123 x 44 cm |
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Abstinence ‘Abstinence’ focuses on the negative space created under a traditional dinner table place setting. These voids are cast in rice (with resin) to acknowledge the importance of this universal staple food. The work enquires that in our rich world is there room for abstemious behaviour from over-indulgence? Materials rice, resin, cloth, board Dimensions 76 x 122 x 122 cm |
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Drug Store “Food can act as drugs , and we must be aware of how our moods and physiology, mental and physical, are so inextricably inter-twined that what and how we eat can have enormous impact on our lives” Candace B. Pert (PhD) Research Professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Medical Centre Materials Perspex, mirror, syringes, vials, metal fixings, fluids. Labels Dimensions 42 x 27.5 x 5 cm |
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Grocery Bag “Food can act as drugs , and we must be aware of how our moods and physiology, mental and physical, are so inextricably inter-twined that what and how we eat can have enormous impact on our lives” Candace B. Pert (PhD) Research Professor, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Medical Centre Materials old doctors bag, syringes, wire, fluids Dimensions 38 x 34 x 19 cm |
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It’s what’s inside that really matters(?) The positive rolls of fat create a negative silhouette of a slim unisex form. Does size matter? A significant amount of research demonstrates a prejudice against individuals who do not conform to fashionable ideals. This prejudice can start in childhood and continue into adulthood with overweight people being regarded as less intelligent, slower, lazy, less successful and unpopular. Our anatomy, biochemistry and heredity are important factors which help dictate our body shape, as well as food intake. Materials rubber, cloth, foam, staples, paint, board Dimensions 244 x 247 x 61 cm |
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Glutton’s Enigma (detail) Western society has a bountiful store of food on which to gorge itself, in sharp contrast to many developing countries where food is a precious commodity. ‘Glutton’s Enigma’ presents a challenge to the viewer through a humorous, yet thought provoking concept, by showing a set of flexible cutlery that is impossible to use. The employment of scrap metal to create the cutlery has a direct association through material, but one which, paradoxically is not fit for purpose, as it is old and rusty. Materials Scrap sheet steel, recovered air valves, redundant gas valves, old heating elements. Internally - reinforced steel rod Dimensions 2.14m x 25 cm x 25 cm each piece Bases 64 x 67 cm All materials salvaged from scrap metal yards. Sculpture created as part of C21 Feast Residency. Owned by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. |
