餐 Banquet

This work is a photographic record of the process of set creation and the changes that occurred over four month, all condensed into a single photograph. During the era in which the still-life I referenced were created, a variety of seasonal fruits were depicted as if they all existed together at the same time. After the start of shooting, I kept the fruits and flowers that withered in the picture while adding new and fresh ones. The result was a mixture of fruits and flowers of different seasons on the same tabletop. The work is based on the painting Flowers and Still-life by Cornellus de Haem (1631-1695). This painting is clearly a rather excessive setting, in which the ordinarily visible vase or dinner plate is nowhere to be seen, being buried by the overflowing abundance of flowers and fruits. It is an unusual still-life painting that deviates from everyday life. It is an expression of the fine line that exists between ugly greed and an excessive yet wonderful desire for beauty.