Sun 18 Aug 2019 - Sun 3 Nov 2019
What's Eating You?
Artist
Shake-n-Make Collective (Claudia B. Manley & Liss Platt)
Gallery
The photo diptychs presented here combine Betty Crocker recipe cards with flash fiction. Embedded in the actual recipe are short stories – mostly about interpersonal relationships, family dynamics, disappointment, failure, shame, and awkwardness. And looking over it all is the quintessential ‘70s food icon rendered in a gilt macaroni portrait, with an upgraded title to suit our current era: Master Chef Boyardee.
(members: Claudia B. Manley & Liss Platt) is a Hamilton-based queer art collective whose work directly references the 1970s while elevating craft and subject matter beyond kitsch to speak to our current moment. Initially inspired by the discovery of a set of Betty Crocker Recipe Cards (circa 1973), Shake–n–Make artworks take the form of felt banners, embroidery, photo-text works, macaroni portraiture, beaded gas cans, installation projects, and more. We are particularly interested in creating tension between the domestic sphere (a primary site of crafting) and the public sphere (the world outside the home), undermining high/low divisions, and questioning what is appropriate as an art material.