A bright orange plate of bright orange food. Next to it, a yellow hard hat shines a head lamp onto the food.

Safe Foods

2024

Aluminum foil, stone clay, Hershey’s kisses wrappers and plumes, found objects, cardstock, spray paint, acrylic paint, glass microbead paint

inspired by David Seltzer, Sea Salt/Lemon Sage

With celiac disease, every meal is a risk. Gluten hides everywhere, from restaurant griddles to soy sauce and licorice. Since my diagnosis, I’ve identified “safe foods” I can always trust not to set off an intestine-destroying immune response: whole fruit, plain potato chips, most hot dogs, Hershey’s chocolate. When I’m stranded and hungry, I look for them. Drawing on the bright colors and abstract inedibility of David Seltzer’s Sea Salt/Lemon Sage, I made my safe foods easier to find by rendering them in an ANSI-inspired worksite safety palette. Use the headlamp for the full high-visibility experience.

Exciting news: This sculpture is on display at the ArtsWorcester gallery show Feast: Call and Response with the Fitchburg Art Museum through April 21, 2024.

Even more exciting news: the Fitchburg Art Museum selected it, along with nine other pieces from the show, to exhibit this summer!

A close-up of bright orange hot dogs, Hershey's Kisses, and potato chips on a bright orange plate. They all have white stripes, like high visibility clothing.
A bright orange clay piece that looks sort of like a potato chip. In the foreground, out of focus, are the tines of a fork and an orange plate with a round orange object with white lines on it.
The same angle on the plate of food, taken without flash. The stripes just appear dull white.
A plate of orange "high visibility" food , featuring a bag of potato chips with the Lays logo painted on it. The image is taken with flash, making the reflective stripes on the food and dishes light up.

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