Bizarre or trending subjects? Catch a break with our curiosity of the week. Photographer Julia Wimmerlin produces strange self-portraits, by turning food into costumes.
Ukrainian photographer Julia Wimmerlin was never patient enough to learn how to cook. “I do not cook. Not only I don’t know how to do it but I simply can’t imagine myself in the kitchen especially after a few very messy attempts”, Julia tells us. However, inspired by photography and the classical paintings of great Flemish masters, she has built a series of culinary self-portraits. “I tried to turn my food into visual art. You can always find the patience to do what you love”, she adds. The result is fascinating: pictorial portraits, with a dash of surrealism and humour.
A challenge in each image
Julia’s self-portraits are meticulous. A work of a goldsmith for the photographer who had to be precise. “This project took around four months to complete. The pasta outfit took the longest to finish”, the artist tells us. “I had to drill four holes in each each pasta for the collar and the headpiece… It’s not a stable material so it breaks easily!”
Each image is a challenge in itself, forcing Julia to put her imagination at work to be able to renew her work. “You need to have an idea about a food item and try to vary them, to adapt to the visual style of the art piece, while being careful that the colours work visually together and the ingredients make sense food-wise”, she explains. The hardest costume to wear? “An octopus. It was very slippery and would only stay on the skin a few seconds”, Julia tells us.
Staged scenes that enhance the portraits’ pictorial aesthetics. A unique way to represent food in photography.
© Julia Wimmerlin
