Food has long been a rich theme for art, from the pioneering still-life paintings of Clara Peeters to the pop-art confections of Wayne Thiebaud and the surreal vegetable portraits of Giuseppe Arcimboldo. In photography, however, it has primarily been the subject of advertising rather than artistic expression. This article highlights the work of five photographers using food to explore our relationship with what we consume. Claudio Dell’Osa and Anne Mason-Hoerter present everyday fruits and vegetables against stark backdrops , while Miguel Vallinas Prieto and Priscilla Ong embrace the surreal through imaginative assemblages. William Mullan and Andrea A. Trabucco-Campos explore the iconography of the apple. Beyond the appeal of colours, smells, textures, and flavours, these artists ask: can we play with our food?
Claudio Dell’Osa
Claudio Dell’Osa’s (b. 1971) Cutting series brings the source of our meals into stark focus. The Italian photographer presents cross-sections of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables – asparagus, chicory, fennel, and more including the whole plant, leaves, roots and soil. He encourages viewers to consider the plant’s biology, acknowledging the story behind produce. Art history-lovers might be reminded of 17th century Spanish bodegón paintings, like Juan Sánchez Cotán’s Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber (1602) in which commonplace foodstuffs are rendered against stark, almost supernatural, deep black backdrops.
claudiodellosa.com | @claudiodellosa.it
William Mullan and Andrea A. Trabucco-Campos
Apples, as visual iconographies, are deeply embedded into western culture, from the Bible and Magritte to the logos on our smartphones. Today, it is estimated that there are 7,500 varieties of apple, a fact that has captivated photographer William Mullan and designer Andrea A. Trabucco-Campos. The Odd Apples series contains 90 still lifes, representing four years of researching, reading, finding, tasting and photographing. In these surreal, and sometimes farcical images, Mullan and Trabucco-Campos offer hyper-stylised aesthetics, focusing on the fruit that has symbolised knowledge and power for centuries.
oddapples.photo | @pomme_william | @trabuccocampos
Miguel Vallinas Prieto
Confetti soup. Soap soup. Cloud soup. Rain soup. Miguel Vallinas Prieto’s (b. 1971) Suppen series visualises what happens when we let the imagination run wild. Each image takes the same starting point: a tablecloth, glass, plate and spoon, positioned against a dark backdrop. What unfolds is the stuff of daydreams, where balloons rise, ceramics shatter and bubbles emerge from the dinner table. In one shot, a small tree grows from a pile of earth; in another, a boiled egg levitates. Driven by nostalgia and a love of storytelling, the artist transforms everyday materials into something magical.
miguelvallinasartstore.com | @miguelvallinas
Priscilla Ong
Assemblage emerged in the 1930s as a new form of sculpture involving the amalgamation of easily obtained materials, found objects or mass-produced items. Singapore-based Priscilla Ong continues this tradition, placing everyday things in new, often humorous, configurations. In the following pages, we see hands knitting with ramen noodles or grating a carrot with a parking ticket. A Polaroid camera prints out slices of processed cheese. Sour ribbons take the place of sticky tape. Ong’s work focuses on minimalism, bright colours and puns, playing with inanimate items, manipulating and reconceptualising materials.
priscillaong.com | @priscillaong.co
Anne Mason-Hoerter
Food photography is usually associated with advertisements, cookbooks and menus. Anne Mason-Hoerter takes a different approach to the genre, one rooted in human memory. “I have always found it fascinating how we remember foods we’ve eaten. Sometimes, it is about taste, texture, or colour.” Her process is compelling: items are tasted, dismantled and photographed up to 100 times. Months later, relying on memory alone, Mason-Hoerter knits these shots together to create a collage of many pictures. Subjects include apricots, celery, figs and raspberries, or discarded items like packaging.
aine-photography.com | @annehoerter
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Words: Sophie Bullivant
Image Credits:
1. Claudio Dell’Osa, from from Cutting. Image courtesy of the artist.
2. Claudio Dell’Osa, from from Cutting. Image courtesy of the artist.
3. Kandil Sinap (Anatolia or Crimea). From the series Odd Apples. Photographer: William Mullen. Designer: A.A. Trabucco-Campos.
4. Image courtesy Miguel Vallinas Prieto, from the Suppen series (2019).
5. Image courtesy Priscilla Ong.
6. Anne Mason-Hoerter, Succade. Image courtesy of the artist.
