Serving Gluttony

The group exhibition Serving Gluttony is held in support of FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste. The exhibition explores the dynamic intersection of food and art, tracing its evolution from traditional depictions of abundance to contemporary reflections on consumer culture.

Across centuries and continents, artists have been captivated by the visual and symbolic richness of food. From Caravaggio’s meticulous Basket of Fruit to Warhol’s vibrant food cans, food has served as both subject and metaphor, reflecting societal values and cultural trends. Today, food in art represents more than just aesthetic pleasure; it is a lens through which we examine complex issues of consumption, identity, and sustainability.

During Amsterdam’s golden age, Dutch still lifes evolved into opulent scenes, boasting exotic lemons and spice-infused mince pies. Like contemporary Instagram posts, these compositions, though meticulously crafted, served as symbols of the affluent bourgeois class. With her own meticulous artistry, Melissa Furness revitalises these traditional masterpieces, infusing them with a contemporary flair, blending pop art motifs with poster imagery.

The artist confronts viewers with the captivating yet unsettling, overflowing compositions of meat and fruit, delving into the intricacies of overconsumption. Inspired by her travels, each artwork serves as a poignant reflection on the interplay between beauty and decay. From the raw depiction of meat carcasses adorning restaurant windows to the allure of ripe melons and pomegranates, Furness explores the dual nature of food as both sustenance and spectacle.

While Furness confronts viewers with the transient nature of life, Michelle Nguyen navigates themes of death, grief, and cultural identity. Inspired by her experiences in Vietnam, Nguyen’s exploration of mortality and the interplay between life and death serves as a contemporary memento moris. Central to this exploration is the painting Seance (Dinner Theatre) which blends cultural symbols with personal reflections on the indulgence that is linked with feasting. This inviting piece serves as a poignant reflection on mortality and the Vietnamese rituals surrounding it. At the heart of the composition lies a boiled rooster, a symbolic dish frequently found adorning Lunar New Year displays. A boiled egg, topped with salmon roe, stands in stark contrast to the rooster, embodying the delicate balance between life and death. Throughout the canvas, symbols of vitality and transience converge. A ghostly hand, delicately cradling a morning glory flower with a spider nestled within, serves as a haunting reminder of life’s fragility and the interconnectedness of all living beings.

Nguyen’s confrontation of societal taboos surrounding death and gluttony are intertwined with themes of sexual trauma and violence as expressed by the artist Izzie Beirne. Her practice delves into the complexities of the human experience, where food becomes a metaphor for the body, at once sensual and grotesque. Teetering on the edge of abstraction, Beirne’s works hint at bodily sensations evoked by imagery of manhandled fruit, as the viewer is confronted by her frenzied hands, depicted in monumental scale.

Through her process, which involves the manipulation of food in film before translating it onto canvas, Beirne crafts scenes of visceral intensity that juxtapose violence against stillness. In her works, pleasure and pain is met with indulgence and restraint, pointing towards the darker aspects of consumption, within the context of a culture obsessed with instant gratification.  

In a similar vein, Samah Rafiq’s work is a journey through the complexities of human appetite and desire. Inspired by the surrealism of Dali’s Autumnal Cannibalism, she delves into the cyclical nature of consumption, reflecting society’s relentless pursuit of pleasure. In her piece Rotation, Rafiq presents a haunting reality. Distorted fleshy hands clutch onto guilty pleasures, frozen in time, as if caught in a perpetual cycle of overconsumption. Much like Dali’s work, Rafiq’s canvas flows in on itself, suggesting a cycle of continuous self-destruction. Through her exploration of the grotesque, she confronts societal norms surrounding diet culture, prompting viewers to engage in a deeper reflection on the hidden anxieties that underpin our relationship with food.

Emilia Symis’s critique of societal excess is expressed through the work Lockdown Diet that captures the chaos and comfort-seeking tendencies prevalent during times of isolation. Heaps of vibrantly wrapped candy lures the viewer into a world of apparent indulgence, only to reveal underlying layers of unease. As the viewer takes note, chewed sweets, knives, and non-edible objects intermingle with the delectable treats. What looked like every child’s dream is transformed instead into a pile of discarded rubbish.

Symis’s latest painting of an opulent golden cake, All That Glitters is Not Gold, epitomises the concept of style over substance. The inviting façade of the cake assumes its artificial nature, serving as a metaphor for the superficiality and emptiness often found in contemporary society’s obsession with consumption. The cake exists in a suspended state of imagined deliciousness, never to be actually tasted by most viewers: a totem of eternally unconsummated desire. 

Alicja Kozłowska’s intricate sculptures delve into the realm of corporate and capitalist greed. Utilising thick felt, quilts, textiles, and layers of threads, she meticulously crafts replicas of everyday food products and packaging, highlighting the consumer habits that often go unnoticed. Through her sculptures, she aims to prompt reflection on the pervasive influence of marketing tactics that exploit human psychology to manipulate purchasing behaviours.

Kozłowska’s performances in public spaces further underscore the deceptive nature of consumerism. By placing her objects among the originals in supermarket stalls worldwide, she observes firsthand the reactions of unsuspecting shoppers. As individuals mindlessly navigate the aisles, her man-made replicas disrupt their routine, prompting a moment of pause and speculation. The sudden shift in attention highlights the power of branding and packaging to influence consumer choices, exposing the tactics employed by corporations to maximise profit at the expense of mindful consumption. By focusing on ubiquitous and recognisable brands, Kozłowska confronts viewers with the pervasive presence of corporate giants in our everyday lives.

In parallel, Katie Butler’s examination of political greed extends this critique to the realm of societal structures. Butler’s latest series captures the allure and discomfort of the idealised American dream. She presents viewers with a world in which beauty and imperfection coexist, mirroring the complexities of our society. At first glance, her works appear idyllic, showcasing luscious, expensive meals and decadent table settings. However, upon closer inspection, subtle details emerge – flies buzzing, spilled wine – hinting at underlying contradictions. By depicting once-disregarded foods, now turned into symbols of opulence and inaccessibility, Butler seeks to evoke a specific social world that is rampant with excess and hidden inequalities.

Placed at the centre of the show, the concept of “gluttony” might seem like a strangely antiquated hook for thinking through current issues of consumption. But, as the artists here vividly demonstrate, the themes of greed, pleasure, death and disgust that the idea of gluttony enfolds are more than ripe for discussion.

– Catherine Flood, co-curator of V&A’s Disobedient Objects (2014) and Food: Bigger than the Plate (2019)