When lunch becomes art: figurative artworks made entirely from food
Image: Jolita Vaitkutė
28 April 2021
Text:
Paula Erizanu
Did somebody say food porn? Lithuanian artist @jolitavaitkutė is taking sensual suppertime entertainment to a next level by making intricate — and sometimes erotic — artworks from lunch ingredients such as ham, carrots, and bread.
“Chocolate painting was the first thing that took me out of my pencil-and-paper comfort zone,” she tells The Calvert Journal. “I was a schoolgirl at the time and, while hanging out in my room, I noticed that the sun melted my chocolate on the windowsill. I put my finger in it, and that was it — the beginning of a new phase.”
There are also pragmatic reasons as to why Vaitkutė chooses food as her main art material. “Food is cheaper than art supplies. Plus, after my creative process, I can eat all my art. It’s gratifying even if my painting wasn’t very successful,” she says.
After sustaining her throughout her poor student days, Vaitkutė’s practice has now become a profitable business, with the Lithuanian artist making food-based compositions and installations for adverts, interiors, and events.
“My main rule in every circumstance is to avoid any kind of waste,” she says. “This is why many of my installations are temporary: sometimes people eat them, and most non-food objects return to their original places.”
