Emily Glass
Feast
“My current series of sculptures has been inspired by patisserie. Over lock down, when the range of ways in which we could escape the daily humdrum became limited, the local patisserie became a new focus for indulgence and pleasure. Their beautiful slices of cake were composed of carefully crafted layers, such as light sponge, translucent fruity gelatine and dark chocolate ganache. The pastry chefs had the ability to combine a mouth-watering combination of colours, textures and flavours which meant choosing one was an immensely difficult decision.
This fascination with patisserie appeared to be becoming widespread, an endless stream of videos appeared on social media, where pastry chefs created mind boggling concoctions with multiple stages and layers. A tightly controlled process using moulds, industrial machinery and pre-made stages enabled them to master exquisite and complex constructions……..a world away from the home spun or hand made.
I have long been fascinated by our relationship with food. Now that we are surrounded by multitudinous ways to satisfy our hunger it’s much harder to remain in touch with our natural appetites. Seductive looking food can easily become a replacement for other emotional needs. The relationship between control and excess is something I explore in these works.
In the construction of my sculptures, I use both processes that can be fully controlled, such as casting and hand building - with ones in which the outcome is more dependent on chance and cannot be completely predetermined. Geometric grid-like patterns of factory produced wafers and waffles, are contrasted with more flowing, organic layers that reference the internal body.”
Emily Glass is an Artist, Curator and Educator living in London. She studied Art History at Edinburgh University (MA) and then Fine Art at Middlesex University (BA) and Goldsmiths College (MA). She was the Curator of Old Big School Gallery in Tonbridge from 2013 to 2020 and has taught Art History and Fine Art. Emily has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions, including, Turner Contemporary and Wells Contemporary Opens.
@emilyglass.studio