Sunday, August 29, 2021

The Inedible Pieces in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto


It's not to eat, but an art installation to view at the Berkeley Art Center (BAC) which is situated within Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto

Created by artist Cathy Lu, well, I could blah-blah along, but instead, let's just use the words from the Art Center's description:

For the most ambitious iteration of her ongoing installation project to date, CATHY LU strings together nearly 2,000 pieces of slipcast ceramic fruit into an elaborate net suspended over the bridge outside BAC. Lu has long been interested in various fruits as evocative reminders of distant homelands. As an artist of Taiwanese descent who grew up in Miami, her work unpacks how experiences of immigration, cultural hybridity, and cultural assimilation become part of the larger American identity.

Glazed in dark greens, golds, and blacks, the piece is ripe with papayas, pineapples, plantains, jackfruit, durians, bitter melons, ginger, and more. Members of the community were invited to participate by sharing their fruit stories via voice message. Selected recordings play as part of the piece during gallery hours.


It's definitely worth the bother to go see this installation, even if you can't eat it. But no worries, there are plenty of other food options nearby. 

Cathy Lu: Customs Declaration continues through the end of September, 2021.

Friday, August 13, 2021

Party Time!

Fostering kittens can be a load of work and worry because they are so very tiny and fragile. But once they settle in, it's pretty wonderful.