Hoarding Food
By Sydney Cash | December 3, 2020
In March, at the beginning of the pandemic, I felt a strong urge in my bones to start hoarding food. As I contemplated the packages holding the food that would feed us in a time of need, their design and meaning became more interesting to me. I began working with my empty paper food cartons…painting on, collaging on, and reconfiguring them.
I developed a relationship with a carton manufacturer. They sent me flat unprinted, embossed carton blanks. I now had “white paper” shapes to draw on, which would fold into actual cartons. Next, I began drawing on Bristol board. I made simple cubic volumes with it and built structure with the volumes. Onto some of the cubic volumes I glued pieces of my old pattern paintings on paper.
A thought occurred to put thin double-faced mirrors between the layers of the structure, reflecting the volume above and below. These architectural constructs, with an illusionary component, were quite satisfying. I had moved beyond a sense of food containers into the realm of personal vision.
Copyright ©2020 Sydney Cash
Throughout his career, Sydney Cash has created numerous bodies of inventive art based on his interest in material transformation. His process of “seeing” has led to him into discovery and mystery. Cash has received fellowships from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. He has had over 50 solo exhibitions in the United Stated and Europe. His work is in numerous museum collections, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Le Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. You can see more of his Hoarding Food sculptures and other work here.
These are great! Whimsical and beautiful, thank you.