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Artist Transforms Food into Striking Sculptures, Eats His Work Afterwards

food carving

Have you ever been scolded for playing with your food? If so, forget what you were told; Artist Gaku has made one of the best arguments for using food to produce awe-inspiring—and edible—works of art. His food carving follows the Japanese tradition of mukimono, which is the art of decorative garnishes. Typically, carrots, daikon, or eggplant are transformed into flowers and fans—but not when Gaku gets his hands on them. Instead, he cuts intricate patterns into the soft flesh of fruits and vegetables. The results are modern with an architectural look and feel.

Gaku's practice is a race against time. If you’ve ever peeled an apple, you know how quickly it oxidizes; within minutes, it starts to discolor. Gaku works at lightning speed with an X-Acto-style knife to ensure that his sculptures stay fresh—notice how the apples never appear brown.

Once he’s done sculpting his contemporary mukimono, Gaku does the next logical thing—he eats them. “Except,” he says, “for the banana peel.”

Gaku makes a great argument for playing with your food—his intricate food carving is awe inspiring.

artistic food carving

food art

carving food

food art

food carving

artistic food carving

artistic food carving

artistic food carving

carving food

Gaku: Instagram
h/t: [Colossal]

All images via Gaku.

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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