Phagomania: Hand-crafted food photography
Among the many things pre-dated by The Skinny: AI slop, and influencer bait. The author of our long-running Phagomania* food column returns to celebrate human artists doing interesting things with real food
A big part of enjoying food is looking at food. We used to run a regular column that celebrated the idea of offbeat and inventive food from across the globe, and visual creatives exploring food use in their work. In the eight-and-a-half years since its last outing, wacky food trends have desensitised us from surprise, and AI looks intent on replicating food photographers within its wider consumption of all creative endeavour.
We were curious as to what drives current photographers to continue to work ‘the old-fashioned way’ and endure the challenges posed by real food. “Our process has always been crafty and tactile,” state duo Ilka & Franz. “The challenge of making something physically impossible happen on set. The collaborative effort and lucky accidents that brings about are really important to us.” Even the idiosyncrasies of AI would never conjure something as wonderfully absurd as pants full of spaghetti for their Bella Italia shoot.
Photographer Juan Carlos Verona expands on this notion. "For me, AI can simulate results, but it will never replace the craft of building a scene through the camera, lenses and intentional use of light." JC’s human touch certainly captures decadence for brunch chain Pablo Eggs-Go-Bao.
Sophistication and otherworldliness meet with fulfilling results in the handcrafted work of creative duo Nocera & Ferri. “We love to work with organic elements because of their unique nature,” they say, and work such as the award-nominated Totem beautifully captures their approach.
Personal projects often reap fresh results, as seen in Alexis Ko’s whimsical Barbie food series and Hannah Slaney’s zine of colour-saturated food scenes created with GF Smith paper merchants. Living our food fantasies vicariously through digital means will only get us so far, but fortunately there’s still a strong creative desire from artists like these to both surprise and resonate.
*Def: / fæɡəʊˈmeɪnɪə / noun: a psychological condition characterised by an overwhelming and compulsive desire to eat, or an obsession with food