4 EDITOR’S NOTE
One represents daily sustenance and feeds the palate. The other offers a sense of permanence and feeds the soul. Food and art occupy important parts of culture and everyday life, but what happens when the two worlds meet? One of the my earliest impressions of the powerful symbolism of food depicted in art was Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s iconic Basket of Fruit. As a young child, what I saw simply from the still life painting were overriped bunches of grapes, a worm-holed apple, pear and peach, and withered leaves in a wicker basket. Little did I know that the decaying fruits were seen by some people as a metaphor for the Church. Pop Art pioneer Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans in 1962 was a commentary about the rise of packaged foods and mass consumerism. Modern day artists like Emma Orlow, Jennifer Rubell, Jason Mecier and many more have continued to use food as an allegory of sociopolitics, class and other issues.
This issue, we celebrate the intertwined worlds of food and art. We chose six artworks from three Singapore-born artists – Adeline Yeo Matsuzaki, Amanda Lapus Santos and Eunice Lim – and transformed their visions into gastro plates. To do that, we roped in chef Rishi Naleendra of CHEEK BISTRO, who answered our call enthusiastically. We are so excited to share these plates of pleasure with you. Turn to page 52 for his menu of surprises. Who knows? It might inspire you to create a dish in the likeness of your favourite painting.
You probably don’t need a reminder but I’m going to do it anyway. Yes, the first quarter of 2019 is truly behind us. It’s terrifyingly exciting to know how fast time flies. If you are already feeling bone-weary and in need of a detox holiday, our Bali wellness guide on page 76 will help you to recharge.
Enjoy our artful issue.