2016

 

'Sugarcoated' is a sugar sculpture turned animation artwork that tackles the themes of human consumption and greed.

It's Wes Anderson meets Tim Burton in a melding of the beautiful and slightly disturbing. The cake is constructed out of fondant, royal icing, and gum-paste as opposed to modelling clay, so as to fill the air with a sickly sweet aroma.

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I was heavily inspired by the Zoetrope, a pre-film animation device that produces the illusion of motion by displaying a spinning sequence of photographs. I wanted to expand on this concept and introduce 3D elements by creating multiple tiers of animated scenes. The skeletal hands reach out, always coveting. The apple shrivels and rots as it is being eaten. The gaunt skulls chomp and gnash as the golden fountain of wealth drips down the side of the cake, illustrating its excess.

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The pastel Rococo colours of pink, white, and gold harken back to the 18th century; an age of extreme wealth inequality and extravagance. Simultaneously, the gentle colours and simplified symbols lend an air of playfulness to the work, effectively 'sugarcoating' the sinister message of exorbitant greed.

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