HOTPOT [art, food + people] Exhibition Press Release

Alex Frost, Adult (Slimatee), 2007 photo copywrite Alex Frost & Sorcha Dallas

HOTPOT [art, food + people]

St Andrews Museum 23rd January 2010- 7th March 2010.

Have you recovered from the seasonal festivities? Then the calorie free ‘HOTPOT [art, food + people]’ is the exhibition for you, on show at St Andrews Museum from 23rd January 2010 through to 7th March. Fife Contemporary Art & Craft in collaboration with SAC funded trainee curator Tonia Lu brings together a group of artists who present work which is inspired by the emotional relationship between food and people. Artists Ruth Archibald-Swaans, Gayle Chong Kwan, Alex Frost, Alex Wilde and Rebecca Wilson take part.

Food is one of the basic necessities of human life. Whether a daily meal or a banquet to celebrate a special event, eating and drinking together has been an important way of developing relationships across all cultural, gender, age, race or class agendas.

Our relationship with food is a significant part of our lives. This fascinating subject has inspired the show’s artists who have explored, manipulated and responded to the theme of food resulting in drawings, photographs, sculpture, video and installation pieces which are creative, challenging and quirky with the added ingredient of humour.

Consumption and consumerism is questioned in a mix of sculpture and new drawings by Glasgow based international artist Alex Frost. Installation and photographs by ceramicist Rebecca Wilson explores the indulgent, frivolous even naughty nature of food cravings.

Audiences are invited to participate throughout the show. Gayle Chong Kwan’s, ‘Manipulated Memory Tasting Booth’, entices you in with nibbles and invites you to listen to memories of food left by previous visitors. The local community will be invited to a tasting and memory recording session run by the artist as part of the artwork.

Fife Contemporary Art & Craft have commissioned two artists to produce works for the HOTPOT exhibition. Alex Wilde’s project, ‘A Fertile Ground (Soup and Conversation)’ will engage the local community in the gallery. A series of discussion events over a bowl of soup will encourage the exploration of the everyday philosophy surrounding food, from individual rituals to family recipes. Ruth Archibald Swaans’ ‘Play Please’- games made of food - will be the centrepiece of a performance held before the exhibition and explores our interaction and handling of food. The games along with a series of photographs documenting the pre-event will be on show encouraging the audience to play the games in the gallery.

The artists range from recent graduates to the more established and are based in Scotland. For more information and electronic images please contact Angie Turner at FCA&C on angela.turner@fcac.co.uk or telephone 01334474610.