Dinner is served
2020
Two layers of hand-cut Chinese mulberry paper painted with watercolour
100 x 100 x 8cm (108cm diameter wood frame)
Installation with LED lights
Animation projection 5 mins looped
‘Dinner is served’ addresses the issue of genetically modified food. I created the work to express my concerns about the constant conflict between the man-made and nature, and the gradual substitution of the natural with the artificial.
Arranged in a traditional circular papercut format, folded diagonally four times, this two-layer cut-out depicts a round table filled with fruits, each with their own symbolism: grapes, pomegranate and melons symbolise fertility; and peaches symbolise long life. At first glance, viewers are presented with an illusion of prosperity and happiness. However, on closer examination, the illusion dissolves, revealing needles extending from syringes that are connected to biotech circuits modifying the fruits’ DNA. The bottom layer reveals a cut-out of a skull which emerges from water, plants and the air. This meal is far from enjoyable.
This conceptual dinner considers our relationship with nature and food. In a world in which the balance between yin and yang is disrupted, food has been challenged politically and environmentally by the encroachment of technology. ‘Dinner is served’ is personal, and so should our concern for what we eat.
Dinner is served is a site-specific installation
on loan for exhibition
The Way We Eat
3 Apr 2021 – 2022
Lower Asian gallery, Art Gallery of NSW