A FEAST OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS
The ritual of feasting at a long table is part of nearly every culture in the world, and synonymous with festivals everywhere, says artist Celeste Theron. ‘The difference between ritual and routine is intent: ritual is about emphasising the “how” of doing things. There’s something incredibly sensual about sharing food. I think it’s because it engrosses all the senses.’
Inspired by the eponymous 1490 Hieronymus Bosch painting, Celeste designed The Garden of Earthly Delights, a shared eating experience, for the Mogale Festival in Tshwane. During her own daily morning ritual of drinking coffee in her garden ‘when the earth is still moist and the air crisp’, she’d thought about the painting, and that sparked the idea.
‘Sitting down, making eye contact, engaging in conversation, arguing without offending, sharing, listening, taking turns – these are the crucial ingredients of connecting over a shared meal,’ she says.
Celeste used stylistic elements from the painting to create centrepieces and other decor elements for the experience.
‘The Garden of Earthly Delights consists of three panels,’ Celeste explains. ‘The first refers to the creation of Adam and Eve, the second is all about indulgence and sexual pleasure, and the third shows the figures being condemned to hell. I focus on the middle panel, because I believe we’ve already seen hell in the past two years! The food is designed to create different sensations through texture, shape and colour – each course focuses on evoking a different flavour.
‘Eating is about connecting the mind, body and heart – and sharing that connection with other people.’