Project Statement: Edibles

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I was commissioned by a local health foundation to create photo-based projects involving two different populations serviced by the organization: the elderly and children. The goal was to involve members of each group to produce artwork that would hang on the walls of corporate headquarters. 

For the children of the AUSTIN BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, there were many issues to negotiate: lots of kids of different ages, short attention spans, after-school energy bursts, and the improbability of obtaining the parental permissions needed if we were to produce recognizable portraits of minors.  

Then I remembered the decorative sandwich faces I used to prepare every day for my kids’ lunches that were not only playful but tasty, too, so I approached Whole Foods Market with a request for produce donations.  Their answer was intoxicating: they gave me permission to pick as many fruits and vegetables, even the expensive exotic ones, as I desired as their contribution to the project! Yow – a shopping experience I won’t soon forget (big shout-out to Whole Foods!). 

We pre-sliced the produce, brought it to the clubhouse, and braced ourselves for general chaos. We were not disappointed. The idea was for the kids to create edible avatars that we would then photograph on-site before having a communal feast. It was a decent plan but amid kids running in all directions, trying to secure a safe zone for the camera equipment, and preventing kids from prematurely eating a nose, an eye or an ear, order gave way to mayhem.  

It was chaotic, hilarious, creative, and great fun. Amazingly, in a way that only kids can do, they managed to focus their creative juices just long enough to produce a suite of deliciously fun and funny portraits.  

And then the feast and the food fight began…! 
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