A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
Originally a pastry chef from New York, I’m now forging a wildly exciting path to engage with my edible art in climate-susceptible geographies. No matter the challenges – from working in humid forests to frigid glaciers, from remote Antarctica to maximum-security prisons – I now create desserts on-site and only produce work about regions in which I have first-hand experience. With a focus on the world’s most remote environments, I first photograph, film, write, and learn from experts on the ground. With additional research to bolster my time in the field, I design cohesive and inventive dessert collections. When shared via press outlets, on social media, and in person, the public is able to interact with and learn about inaccessible people, places, and science.
Continuing to use sugar — specifically fondant — as my medium allows me to create a three-dimensional sculpture that I can physically build, mold, lift, flatten, tear, and imprint to mimic our planet’s textures. Its pristine monochromatic white base lends itself to representing the ice and snow that I’m so moved by, while achieving pigment demands color mastery when kneading the stiff fondant by hand. After a piece is constructed, I use sugar, alcohol, and edible dye to paint, spackle, and craft additional features that communicate a larger story. The layering of cake and fillings may represent the scale of a data set, accumulated depositions of time or experiences, and flavors or flora representative of a region.
I’m fascinated by the ever-changing creation → collapse of ice and the surprising interdependence of ecosystems. I see this cyclical pattern repeated in the physicality of my art’s creation and its subsequent destruction. Edible work is ephemeral work – yet there’s power in the delicious consumption of ideas and scientific data.
BREAK TRADITION
Instead of traditional wedding cakes, I shift the focus of who and what we celebrate. I redirect that joy and attention to: 1) the people protecting our public lands, 2) the people living at the edges of our society, and 3) the people doing the work to become further engaged, further educated, and further connected to our world. |
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