I was inspired by the message of the seventeenth century Dutch Vanitas still life painters; abundance versus decay.  I reinterpreted their concept and made it my own.  My work depicts various produce items, ranging from a shriveled state to being completely moldy, either way would be considered inedible and discarded without a second thought.

 

          Approximately forty percent of all produce grown in the United States never makes it to the grocery store shelf.  It is rejected, often left in the field to rot, because it is deemed too unappealing or has already begun to show deterioration.  We expect our fruits and vegetables to be beautiful and perfect.  Food abundance is so prevalent the waste goes unnoticed.  My work sheds light on this issue.

 

          Within each still life, notice the relationship between the objects.  Observe tension in the unpleasant appearance of the rotten food, in the way items are perched unsteadily, and in the way the decaying food interacts with genuine crystal, antique books, and other items of supposed worth.  Some of the photographs’ crystal items have been replaced with plastic ones which mimic the style of antique vases.  In the same way I am modernizing a classic genre, plastic has remade classic glassware.  The simplicity and softness of each photograph is off-set by the feeling of unease caused by the contrasting intersection of the subject matter.

 

          By including these food items in the traditional still life format, I am giving them new life.  I am assigning value to the decomposing fruits and vegetables and creating an opportunity for them to be considered beautiful.  At the same time, I am bringing attention to a growing concern facing our world’s food supply and our environment.