The Sweet Taste of Imperfection: A Visual Exploration of Unmarketable Produce
| Digital Photography |
While standards of beauty for men and women are ever-changing as societal trends alter with time and place, there is an expectation of “perfection” that remains rooted in the classical ideal of Ancient Greece and Rome. These standards and expectations are not specific to humans alone, but can be seen and measured in their application in the non-human world. For example, consumers expect their food, specifically produce, to meet particular levels of perfection, of smoothness, shininess, symmetry, and freedom from blemishes. Cosmetically imperfect produce accounts for up to twenty percent of loss in a farmer’s production in a given year and includes anything from two-or-three-legged carrots and heart shaped apples, to sprouting strawberries, siamese grapes, and bruised pears. My work aims to critique the American food industry, from post-production to consumer, by exploring the largest consequence of cosmetically imperfect produce: food waste. I employ studio-based photography utilizing “rescued” fruits and vegetables as models. To effectively communicate the complexity of the issue, my photographs take a few different approaches that both personify the produce in a narrative form and examine them in a clinical manner. The final installation culminated as three separate, yet cohesive, bodies of work.
| Gallery 406 | Elon, North Carolina "the big picture." April 28, 2017