Wearable Foods: The Art of Yeonju Sung

{fig. 1 & 2} tomato dress, and mushroom {fig. 3 & 4} white radish dress, and chives {fig. 5 & 6} lotus dress, and banana {fig. 6 & 7} pumpkin dress, and spring onion {all photos from Yeonju Sung}

Yes, that saucy little red strapless number IS made out of tomatoes. And yes, it's literally saucy. These fanciful and well, delicious frocks are part of an art exhibit by young Korean artist Yeonju Sung that explores the contrast between reality and a made-up alternate reality. The project focuses on reinterpreting the roles of clothing and food by creating couture out of degradable and edible materials.

Her website explains: "This series of her work forces viewers to defy the actual meaning, the functionalities, and the aspects of what clothing signifies in our lives. These images trigger some of our fundamental senses: Desire to wear clothes; desire to eat."

Being an obsessive foodie these dresses make me believe in Sung's alternate reality. Just think about it, instead of subsisting on ramen for weeks to buy that insanely amazing dress you've been pining over, the dress is made out of food and you eat it after you wear it. Kill two birds with one stone. Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly what she was going for, and maybe I'm alone in my desire to eat my clothing. I'm reminded of my starving college student years when I would save up many a paycheck (earned ironically as a mystery shopper for McDonalds) to get my hands on a dream article of clothing. I would enthusiastically tell my father about my exciting new acquisition (he is one of my bffs after all) and in his stern trying-to-impart-wisdom voice he would lecture me about needs vs wants. He would always say, "well, I hope that dress tastes good with ketchup because you're going to be eating it one of these days." Okay, I get that this exhibit isn't about literally eating your clothes and I admit that could be kind of gross, but there's something wonderful in the juxtaposition of those needs and wants, right there in Sung's art.

Aside from satisfying two primal needs, Sung's creations showcase the beauty of nature. Who knew that fruits and vegetables could be so gorgeous? The delicate lace-like pattern in the lotus roots, the striped textures in the banana peels, the transparency and ombre of the white radish, these are all nature's designs and they're more fantastic than anything the mind can create. So forget about that duct tape dress, or cardboard frock, and look towards the garden. If you need me I'll be in the made-up reality, happily prancing around in a dress made of chives.

More about Yeonju Sung and her wearable foods here.