One of the nights we wanted to host at the gallery was a collaboration of various resources and skills, to attempt some sort of sensory cohersion. The most responsibility however was placed Tanith Allen.Whose practice aims to help push the understanding and enjoyment of visual work through food.Making work reflecting aspects of what we see through the sense of taste.
The event was scheduled for 27th December. Tanith had been to see the painters at Wimbledon a week earlier and had been developing and tinkering a menu up until Boxing day. Trains were booked a time table had been made for the day. Tanith would be travelling down from Scarborough her home town with some of the food already made and what wasn't put together, already in tiny individual jars. It was all going to run smoothly until disastor struck the train strike had interrupted to Manchester from York .Then once in Manchester she was stranded until she got a train through to Bolton on the pretence that the national rail could then take her to Darwen. On getting to Bolton she found that no trains would be running to Darwen or even Blackburn that day. Then eventually she managed to get a taxi from Bolton to my house in Darwen for just £20.Once at mine we hurriedly began to cook the bits from the menue that couldn't travel. We managed to get out the door at seven statements and trays in hand.
The painters featured were Jonathan Kelly, Freya Guest and Thomas Rapsy this is Tanith's crituque of there work, handed out on the night.
Freya's work , seeming to be inspired by the Surrealist 'dream scapes' of Breton et al bring about an immediate sense of the depiction of other-worldliness.
There is nothing light and delicate about there canvases , their rich vivality is dramatic and intriguing.
To compliment the works the spinach and garlic infused panna cotta is endearingly odd and marvellously rich, its organic shape mimics the figural gestures which repeat throughout Freya's work. Coupled with a parmesan crisp which is intended to add a much needed sharpness to the the dish is influenced by Freya's choice of creamy blues and greens, the overall effect should leave us feeling indulged and perhaps a little displaced.
Tom's paintings centrally address colour and the development of plane over plane .Certain marriages of complimentaries and clashing hues create tensions within the canvas and though his technique is not methodical, it seems the intention is one of new space created through the relationship of line, colour and diffusion;
The dish , which compiles of a saffron and honey bread spread with a sharp but warming fresh avocado purée and dressed with a reduced balsamic jous narrates the spectrum of relationships across Tom's canvases. While the bread is sweet and hints at something familiar and perhaps even nostalgic, it also hints of the exotic and unknown. This marries comfortably with the puree' which, with carraway and lemon, indulges fantasies of travel, while the sharp but sickly reduction fights against this, attacking the taste buds while complimenting the honey sweetened bread.
Jon's work addresses the difficulty of the amalgamation between drawing and painting. These works transcend beautifully into the culinary aspect as similarly, food and visual art can be difficult to unite. There is a primary concentration on the artist's use of bare canvas, giving a very organic impression, alongside vivid reds, pinks and perhaps most synthetic: black.
Flavour-wise, the dish comprises of an almond sponge which is soft, delicate and earthy. However, the sponge holds within it an aggressive, sharp and even exciting surprise. The burst of raspberry coulis illustrates John's use of vivid tones and showmanship of his pallet. Visually, the sponge manifests as an imperfect white cube with just a hint of synthetic colour pushing its way through the barriers of an untouched canvas. While the outside seems to plea for recognition of its purity, an aggressive undertone screams through the edges, and it is this underlying aggression which we as spectators really want to experience.
Jonathon Kelly - http://www.facebook.com/joonipper
Thomas Rapsy - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=532155800
Freya Guest - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=727248535
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