Aphrodisiac Cookery: Ancient and Modern

Aphrodisiac Cookery: Ancient and Modern is a project inspired by the 1970 book of the same name. The book itself is a compendium of recipes and foods designed to “heighten the senses,” with both traditional and modern approaches. The project comprises sculptures and dioramas using both created and found objects that act as visual representations and interpretations of the recipes, such as bundles of grapes, gold dishes, bulbous flowers, and cherubs. 

The project explores concepts such as sensuality and food, as well as domesticity, lust, the illicit, and notions of purity. The series of assemblage sculpture-installations have been made using a combination of kitsch objects and clay sculptures, alongside scans from pages (recipes and notes) from the source text.

A version of this project was originally shown at 4 by 4 on 5th Gallery in Vancouver, BC in March 2024.