Jennifer Rubell - Deconstructing the Dinner Party

Posted 1 month, 2 weeks ago at 11:35 am. 0 comments

You walk into a celebratory dinner, be it a wedding or an anniversary. You go through the motions of sitting down, enjoying the meal and making small talk with your dinner table companions. After dinner, you down a couple more drinks and continue making small talk about politically correct topics with your new acquaintances. Jennifer Rubell, artist/caterer/conceptualist, takes everything you know about dinner parties and deconstructs the ritual; merging food and performance art for astonishing effect.

Rubell’s concept for celebrating the union of auctioneer Simon de Pury and Michaela Neumeister in the Saatchi Gallery was referencing art in food. Guests were confronted with an interactive experience instead of the usual wedding banquet, with food installations reminiscent of Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’ and the glass casing of Damien Hirst’s shark in formaldehyde -  both artworks owned by Charles Saatchi. Sausages were hung from the ceiling, and guests were invited to cut them down as part of the series of food installations throughout the gallery space. The result, although disconcerting for guests at first, was an ingenious fusion of art and food, making the deconstructed dinner party worth remembering.

Dinner beds - much like Tracey Emin’s ‘My Bed’

Guests were invited to break champagne flutes - reference made to Damien Hirst’s shark in formaldehyde.

Hanging sausages