Guilty Pleasure

Based on the concept of advantages and disadvantages of healthy food, this selection of artwork is inspired by the work “The Different Perspective”. Continuing this conflicting concept, I came up with the theme of “guilty pleasure” of food over-consumption. These pieces of art discuss the contrary between joyous emotions and negative effects on a person’s health which are illustrated through the use of desserts and snacks in these following pieces of art. Starting off with an EE sketch, the cake drawing conveys a dreamy and luminance atmosphere with a dark undertone that foreshadows the ‘guilty’ aspect of the theme “guilty pleasure.” Observing the use of colors in cartoons such as ‘Adventure Time’, I recognized how different atmospheres in each situation are conveyed through the use of colors. Applying this concept into the idea of ‘guilty pleasure’, I have incorporated color to my pieces of art, choosing to focus mainly on vibrant colors that provide a joyous mood to the artworks. I have also decided to use blue, as it is often associated with nasty chemicals used in the food industry, contrasting with its appealing physical appearance. Initially incorporating color into the mixed media drawing of the ‘Pleasure’ aspect of ‘Guilty Pleasure’, and later on developing into an installation. As someone who enjoys baking during my spare-time, I chose to imitate an over-the-top three tier cake, accompanied by brilliantly colored cupcakes and buttercream piping that are made out of ‘wall putty’ mixed with acrylic paint. The cake installation combines both the ‘guilt’ and ‘pleasure’ side of food represented through the theme of celebration such as birthdays. Evolving from the phrase ‘let them eat cake’ that relates to Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution, this installation is a representation of extravagance. Vibrant choice of colors is used to represent this theme with a continuous use of blue developed from the ‘Pleasure’ aspect of ‘Guilty Pleasure’ sketch. The vibrant colors and glitter intend to make the cakes appear overly sweet, a façade attracting people to the cake, but in reality, it is a 'nightmare dressed like a daydream', the cause of monstrous diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Decorating with excessive buttercream piping, the design ties in with the use of syringe birthday candles portraying people's unconscious addiction to sugar, an overdosed drug, acting as a source of energy. Without sugar, people will be unable to function in their everyday lives. Conforming to the tradition that an extra birthday candle will be added to a person's cake each year they are older, these syringes can also be seen as pills preserving a person's life, by injecting adrenaline to keep their energy level high. In essence, this ensemble of artwork is an attempt to juxtapose the two contrasting emotions relating to food, believing that every type of food can be perceived as a form of ‘guilty pleasure’ if not consumed with knowledge and care.