Elizabeth Willing, visual artist, Brisbane

I think the best (and scariest) place to view change is in the ‘health food’ aisle of your supermarket.

Throughout her career, prolific visual artist Elizabeth Willing has been fascinated with the intersect art, experience and food. With residencies at some of the world’s most celebrated art institutions, Elizabeth uses sculpture, installation, and performance to explore the rich world of food from gastronomy to agriculture. This September, the Brisbane-based artist brings her latest large-scale installation home – with Kitchen Studio set to be unveiled as part of this year’s Brisbane Festival. Described as her most ambitious work yet, Kitchen Studio invites audiences to embark on a sensory journey, with a sculptural dining room open to explore throughout the day and an intimate dining experience at night. We took the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth about her upcoming exhibition, artistic practice and the endless inspiration of food.

To start, we’d love to know about the origins of your craft. What led you to the world of visual art?
As a child, I was a maker and a collector of things. My parents encouraged and demonstrated creativity, my mum is a ceramicist, and my dad is a blacksmith. Having excellent teachers and mentors has been pivotal to carving a path in this industry.

What would you say are some of the biggest sources of inspiration for your artistic practice?
A love of exploring materials and trying to understand the mechanics of the natural world. I spend time in the studio playing and experimenting with materials, often stubbornly returning to a problem for many years until it starts to make sense.  I am inspired by everyday experiences, but I am particularly attuned to experiences of eating and discomfort.

Food has remained a prominent source of inspiration (and medium) in your artwork – can you share any insight into what made food a focus in your work?
I was investigating cooking quite intensely when I moved out of home for university, I was learning to feed myself and become an artist concurrently. I brought cooking into the studio to combine the two activities. But I think it is also significant that I grew up around some complicated food relationships, and this has impacted my understanding of eating, that it is intrinsically psychological.

You’ll be showcasing your new mixed-media project Kitchen Studio at Brisbane Festival this year – what can audiences expect from the show?
A sculptural restaurant, a cascade of experiences, a sensory bombardment, an absurd meal, a reflection on dining culture, a critique of processed food, a laugh…. There are so many ways to describe what will go on in Kitchen Studio. It will come down to the individual audience member to pull from it what they want. It is, in short, five courses, though best to not think of it as a nourishing meal, but as a series of nourishing prompts shared with your dining companions.

What inspired this ambitious project?
I have been creating dining performances for many years, but in every iteration, I felt it lacked the level of multi-sensory immersion I was after. So I have been imagining how this format could expand, develop, and complicate. Metro Arts came to me a few years ago and asked me what my most ambitious idea was, and I told them I wanted to create a restaurant. With the support of Creative Australia, Arts Queensland, Brisbane Festival and Metro Arts this multi-faceted experience I have been imagining has come together.

You’ve said that Kitchen Studio has been ten years in the making. Have you witnessed any shift in perspectives on diet and food culture over the last decade?
I try to situate myself with one foot in and one foot out of food culture. I am by no means a gourmet, locavore, connoisseur, or rigidly ethical about my food choices. But I try my best to understand what discourses are going on locally and internationally because these trends have an intense impact on the ingredients in our groceries, the agricultural sector, and how we understand ‘healthy’ food at any given time. Shifts are constant, and highly sensitive to scientific research and marketing dollars of course. I think the best (and scariest) place to view change is in the ‘health food’ aisle of your supermarket.

How does it feel to finally be completing this artwork (and on home turf no less)?
Amazing, I wouldn’t want it any other way. Also, because I have been able to work intensely with four local collaborators for Kitchen Studio. Anna Whitaker is creating a bespoke soundscape for the work, while Chris Howlett has created a digital video artwork in place of a menu for the experience. I have worked with Speculative Architecture to create the room design and sculptural seating, and Maisie Crosdale is the savvy producer of Kitchen Studio.

The art installation and sensory journey is set to include a series of conceptually driven courses. Will you yourself be cooking for audiences?
Serving? Yes. Cooking? No, I am no chef. I have however designed each course carefully and have commissioned expert food producers to fabricate specific elements for each course where necessary. The foods served are sometimes tediously simple but served in a thought-provoking way, or the foods may be complex and surprising but served in a pared-back way. I have tried to make each course the right balance of challenging and joyful. 

As a Brisbane local, where is your favourite place to eat in Brisbane?
I don’t get to eat out a lot as I have a four-year-old daughter. But when I am in the city, and feeling overwhelmed by the chaos, I love that I can get away from it all and eat well at Stanton.

Kitchen Studio, presented by Metro Arts and Brisbane Festival, will open August 30. Tickets are on sale now via the Metro Arts website.

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