It’s probably not often that you’ve looked at your sunny side eggs and considered them a piece of art. What about your backyard squash? Tjalf Sparnaay’s oil paintings highlight “the beauty of the contemporary commonplace” while David Hicks draws his inspiration from the beauty of farm lands and nature surrounding his home. Both artists help us see agricultural produce and food in new light, yet they also further our critical thinking. One cannot help but notice the freshness of Sparnaay’s salad bowl or lobster, for instance, which – as one critic has put it – “look so delicious you’ll be famished by the time you finish viewing” them. Arranged with Hicks’ work, which is inspired by the agricultural world and its cycles, the viewer also becomes engaged in the politics of food: local and sustainable farming versus processed and genetically modified mass production. Are you going for the deep-fried croquette or Mother Nature’s offerings? The choice lies with the viewer/consumer. As Hicks himself has pointed out, the agricultural world and the human condition grow out of the same struggle: fertilization, growth and decay. Decay or death is part of the cycle, but our nutrition can prolong life.
Linda Lopez featured in Sabato Magazine!