Up until this point my work has ultimately been based around the review and documentation on the sublime and intricate beauty I have found in the leftover Foods I have in my life. The documentation has been mainly from a distance, a review of a natural process with little or no Input from me. Any input I’ve put in is to slightly re angle the fruits to photograph, anything more than that would have disrupted the natural cycle or transition of form that I was so interested in. This made me interested in the relationship between me and the food I was documenting. So far the relationship was one of me observing from a distance, no or little interaction, so I became interested in what would happen if I did interact. How would that change the dynamic? So I made an experiment in which I video myself interacting, playing, touching and ultimately destroying the already disintegrating berries. The act itself felt wrong, like I was destroying and breaking a natural cycle. The result although interesting I don’t feel is effective. Instead of admiring and appreciating nature and the natural forms found in food waste, this act purposefully destroyed what I had spent so long documenting. It went against everything I had explored so far which was to appreciate and document the ordinary. The result was a very interested “splat“ of raspberry pulp. Not unlike what I imagine a murder scene to look like, which is fitting given the context. This result of a “pulp” pile taught me more than I had expected even though I found it ineffective as an outcome and process. It made me realise that my real Interest is in the sublime and impermanence that is found within the structure and forms of the foods I had documented. The natural breakdown, the transformation of its strict form to a much more soft and amorphous features is what really interests me. And the process of documenting that with no input from me was the real crux of my project. Moving forward I want to further explore, document and experience more of nature and my natural environment with little to no interaction. A one sided appreciative relationship.
As I was so disappointed with the outcome I attempted (perhaps in a way to revive the work) to project the video and images of the raspberries after I had interacted with them. The results aesthetically are really interesting. Much more similar to my previous works which are likened to medical slides or some kind of biological matter. I really like the way the subject feels familiar in shape and appearance yet ultimately is unrecognisable. That interesting balance between thinking you know what something is, and also not quite being able to place the subject was something I wanted to further play around with.
