Eat Your Art Out: an Edible Art Experience

Eat Your Art Out: An Edible Art Experience
Hot on the heels of her fabulously successful "Dessertslands" in WOAP (Wellington On A Plate), the talented Caitlin le Harivel returns to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery with a new foodie experience created especially for the gallery:

Eat Your Art Out: an edible art experience inspired by Poutokomanawa: The Carmen Rupe Generation and Jaqueline Fahey’s Suburbanites

Step back in time to an edible world of art....

To celebrate the final night of these fantastic kiwi exhibitions there will be a range of retro treats inspired by the artwork on display. Sip on some “sly grog” and take yourself back to a time when late-night coffee bars covertly sold unlicensed alcohol hidden in teapots or coffee cups. Taste a melting fondue sculpture, create your own edible art and eat from the walls in this interactive art experience-all while enjoying your own private viewing of the exhibitions at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery.

The Menu includes such tantalising items as:

+Cheese Fondue "Cakes": swiss cheese, local sauvignon blanc, a bit of smoke and a lick of garlic
+Carmen's chilli crush Lipstick: Edible chocolate, chilli & vanilla ganache
+Sly Grog: forget prohibition days with a decadent spiked real chocolate & coffee hot drink. *non-alcoholic option available
+"Wallpaper": Embrace your inner child and eat biscuits from the walls.

....and more!

Caitlin Le Harivel has drawn her inspiration from Fahey’s bold artwork and the iconic figures and fascinating stories of Poutokomanawa: The Carmen Rupe Generation. Jacqueline Fahey’s vibrant domestic scenes and emotionally complex paintings such as “The Brush is My Sword, the Palette is my shield” inspired her Edible paints and Cheese Fondue sculptures. She was also particularly inspired by the important role these powerful transgender woman and coffee houses (such as the Evergreen and Carmen’s Coffee Lounge) played in creating places of safety and support in the community.

Cheese Fondue Sculptures: seemingly solid “cakes” that will transform into a gooey fondue made of swiss cheese, local sauvignon blanc, a bit of smoke and lick of garlic. The cakes would happily sit on a table in one of Fahey’s many domestic scenes.

Chrissy’s Chilli Crush Lipstick: Inspired by the glamorous transgender women of the time, these edible lipstick’s ask you to embrace your inner ‘Queen of the Evergreen” and dress up with an edible lipstick made from white chocolate, chilli & vanilla ganache. Alongside Carmen, Chrissy Witoko who was known as Queen of the Evergreen, was one of the major players in the Wellington nightlife scene. Chrissy Witoko’s niece “Mischellè Tohu’s favourite childhood pastimes was to dress up in her Aunt Chris’s collection of elegant shiny hats, glittery dresses, jewellery and high stiletto shoes. She and her cousins would wait until Chrissy left the house to then try on all her special outfits ‘and pretend we’re in the fairy tale books’.”

Sly Grog: a decadent spiked real chocolate & coffee hot drink. As “the licensed bars closed (at 11:30pm), late night coffee bars began to covertly sell unlicensed alcohol – known as sly grog. Coffee was often laced with whisky, or alcohol was sold straight from teapots or served in coffee cups.”

(Quotes from https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/topic/3751)

Indulge your childhood memories and have a taste of this unique one-off experience.

*Included in the ticket price are two alcoholic beverages. Further alcohol will be available for purchase on the night.