Artist Statement

Through the representation of raw produce, my piece symbolically illustrates the nature of identity as defined by the internal and physical traits of an individual and how they are stereotyped based on physical assumptions. It embodies the notion that our genetic make-up determines our outward appearance, but that the environment in which we live shapes our consciousness, our ‘flavour’. Much like a person’s identity, the most important part of the food is its taste: A peach might be known as sweet and vibrant, but if grown in an unhealthy environment, could be sour or rotten at the core. A kiwifruit may look uninviting, with its fuzzy brown skin, but inside it has sweet flesh. The collection of singular produce, at different stages of revealing their flesh, represents a community of individuals in the same environment, against a white wall. Clusters of the same fruits have been grouped together to contrast and emphasise their differences, in turn challenging stereotypes and the notion of ‘what you see is what you get’.