GORGEOUS HAUTE CUISINE + HAUTE COUTURE
YEONJU SUNG
Haute couture that could be haute cuisine? How random! How brilliant! And how gorgeous! The Wearable Food series, created by Korean artist Yeonju Sung, illustrates just how beautiful randomness can be.
Sung began the series of edible apparel back in 2009 when she was inspired by watching her mother peel apples. She was fascinated by the way her mother was able to peel a whole apple in one motion, producing a single, long ribbon of the entire skin. It reminded her of fabric, so she designed an apple skin dress.
Skins, slices, shreds, and whole forms of fruits and vegetables all became fair game for Sung. She created a collection of designs which she then photographed. The fine art prints were exhibited at galleries and shows around the world. Most recently, Sung was one of a select group of artists on exhibition at Festival Internationale de la Photographie Culinaire (FIPC) 2017 - Theme: Gastronomie & Haute Couture.
Leeks, lotus roots, red cabbage, tomatoes, bananas, mushrooms, radishes, bubble gum and more foods triggered Sung’s ideas. Soon it became evident that practically any edible could be fashioned into fashion.
Craft is just as important as concept for Sung. Each garment piece is carefully considered. White radishes and Japanese eggplants thinly sliced on a mandoline are layered with the artistry tantamount to a Givenchy gown.
Swiss chard leaves were precisely cut and folded to highlight their ruby stems and veins. Banana skins were scored so that their oxidation created a striping pattern. We would wear these dresses for sure, if we only could.
Winter enoki mushrooms are arranged to hang like flapper fringe. Bubble gum is stretched and shaped to form translucent “silk chiffon.”
The process became much more complicated as Sung developed. She arranged the food elements into photoready patterns that mimicked the patterns on textiles and printed fabrics, then photographed the results. But then, she started printing these photographs and reincorporated the prints back into her sculptural objects, thereby combining the digital print, with the real thing.
Sung then photographed this hybrid real and virtual object, printed the new version, and repeated the process. “It came to a point where, in spite of appearing to be real edible material, the majority of the object was actually made of digital prints,” she explained.
So is it random to create clothing out of food? Maybe, but it is a beautiful expression and it serves a purpose. “I want people to look more closely at seemingly familiar objects like clothing,” Sung says.
Read more about Beautiful Randoms all this week on BeautifulNow. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.
Do you have amazing photos? Enter them in this week’s BN Photo Competition.
