Cooking art from eggs
A Mexican medicine student is the author of dozens of eggy art works which have gone viral on social media.
AN egg may look like only an egg – but, as Mexican artist Michele Baldini knows, it can be many more things.
The 20-year-old medicine student has gained more than 35,000 followers on Instagram with his works of art, which only use two materials: an egg or two, and a frying pan.
Baldini cuts fried eggs into the most intricate designs that he exhibits against the black background of the pan.
“I like doing something out of the ordinary, something different from what has been done before,” he said.
More than 60 elaborate designs are posted on Baldini’s Instagram account, called The Eggs-hibit.
They include all sorts of references, from the art world to pop culture. A re-creation of the New York skyline can be found, as well as an eggy rendition of Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
The most popular ones include a profile of US President Donald Trump, which has received more than 4,000 likes and prompted some humorous comments.
“Why make America great when it can be eggs-celent?” one commentator quipped, while another said: “His face should be the yolk instead (of the egg white).” Another favourite depicts a wolf howling at the moon, with more than 3,500 likes so far. An image of Britain is titled Bregg-sit and and one of Italy, Eataly.
The egg designs may look too beautiful to eat, but after they have been created, photographed and published, they do end up on someone’s plate.
“I usually eat what I make. Sometimes, however, it’s too much egg for one person, so my father helps me by eating some, and nothing goes to waste,” Baldini said.
The young Mexican started turning his breakfast eggs into art in late 2014.
“It all started one day, when I saw a yin-and-yang symbol on the Internet and wanted to recreate it,” he said by telephone from the northern city of Monterrey, where he is based.
Creating one eggy design can take from 20 minutes to two hours. The rendition of van Gogh’s painting took the longest, because “it required a lot of detail”, Baldini explains.
“I never talk about the production process, because that is part of the joke, but there are works that I do with one egg and others that require several eggs until a single image is created.”
He also reveals that colours play a key role. “I like the contrast between the colours a lot: the egg white with the yellow yolk against the black background of the pan.”
The artist says he is inspired by his travels, current events or just anything that may strike him. Baldini first published photos of his designs on his personal social media accounts once a month. “In October 2017, I decided to create an Instagram page only for eggs and that’s how The Eggs-hibit was born.”
The page, which publishes a new picture weekly, first attracted followers mainly in Mexico, but now has fans in numerous countries.
The Mexican-born son of an Italian father and a US mother promises to keep his followers happy for some time, though eventually, he intends to dedicate himself to practising medicine. “Although school is a priority, I will continue doing this while I can.” – dpa