I was reminded of this recent topic when I was alerted by the caption to a non-appearing picture on the online Daily Telegraph
allegedly of
" Chinese contemporary artist Song Dong builds a city entirely out of biscuits at Selfridges, London"
where of course "biscuits" are the items commomly referred to as "cookies" in the States
and in the blurb below "sweets" are of course "candies"
I googled for
"selfridges biscuit city"
and at:-
http://www.selfridges.com/index.cfm?...2&element=4662
I read
"Eating the City’ by Song Dong
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Promotion introduction:
Song Dongs’ latest work entitled "Edible City" will be on display at Selfridges on Oxford Street February 15th to the 22nd. At the end, the public will be invited to eat the edible city.
Song Dong has built 5 previous biscuit cities as part of his art installations.
He says "The purpose of my work is for the city I build to be destroyed. I don't have a particular city to copy from, nor a particular architectural style. I am merely following the town planning of the present day."
The reason for the display is to symbolize "The expansion of a city [that] is caused by our desire. As cities in Asia grow, old buildings are knocked down and new ones built, almost every day. Some cities have even been built from scratch in 20 years.” "My city will be built of sweets and biscuits, making it tempting and delicious. When we are eating the city we are using our desire to taste it, but at the same time, we're demolishing the city and turning it into a ruin."
“Eating the City” is a collaboration between Selfridges and The Red Mansion Foundation, which promotes cultural exchanges between China and Britain.
Lower Ground February 15 - February 22"
there should be a picture there but there is a selection on the BBC site at:
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4732886.stm
including
Somewhat incongruously the caption to that last pic is:-
"an artist's interpretation of New York's Empire State Building stands in the city"
"A total of 72,000 biscuits, including ryvitas and gingernuts, will be used to create the cityscape"
"And shoppers at Selfridges in Oxford Street will be able to tuck in to the biscuits once the city is finished....
A team of artists have been working on the biscuit city at a London department store for six days"
this all makes me wonder if Mr Dong of "Long Thin Dong" fame is a Lighthead!!
And if any of our London members knew about this??
John Fowles
