Rotting Meat

Decomposing food is one of the key international triggers of disgust according to Doctor Hertz(
As with the snake, the theory is that we were taught to avoid anything that could cause us harm.
The limitation with this shoot was the inability to relay the sense of smell! I felt extremely nauseous as I was setting up this unpalatable platter!

I added some insects to increase the sense of disgust, in response and with reference to Hurst's 'A Thousand Years' http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/02/damien-hirst-tate-review

and Klaus Pichler's  'One Third Project'

With several different food choices, I made up different platters placing them on different coloured backgrounds. The orchids represented beauty as a foil to the ugliness of the rotten food. The crocheted lace doily adds a sense of irony.

Meat, Bones, blood, hair and orchids.

Rotten Meat, bones, blood, moulding juices, insects and orchid.

The white paper doilly gives a crisp pure backdrop.

A pink backdrop and a starter -sized selection including a lock of blonde hair in response to Helen Chadwick's image where she combined blonde, innocent 'Goldilocks Hair' with a long twisted coil of pig's intestines. The orchid looks almost animal with the bone-like curving parts in the centre of the petals.

 

Chadwick 'Loop my Loop'

Although the manipulated image above has moved away from the original as you cannot see the whole picture, I think there is still a bloody meat and gore recognisable at the centre of the image.

The high definition of these images enable a closer examination of the layers of flesh and fat, blood and fine tendrils of mould. I am getting closer to what I am trying to create-that sensual element and composition that draws the viewer closer, followed by the jolt of recognition and disgust.