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Delia’s latest incarnation
Take 50 bars of melted chocolate, colourful fruit, eggs and a cake mould, then turn them into an image of Britain’s best-loved cook. This might sound surreal, but it’s exactly what leading artist Marc Quinn did to create a sculpture of Delia made from foodstuffs.
© The sculpture, described by Delia as striking, imaginative and good fun, was made to celebrate the launch of the first four books in Delia’s new series, The Delia Collections, published by BBC Worldwide on 2 October. And, true to form – his previous work has included a self-portrait of his head, filled with pints of his own blood – Marc Quinn took an unconventional approach, using only items found in the average kitchen. As a result, the head has been cast in chocolate, surrounded by a cornucopia of vividly coloured fruits including sliced oranges, strawberries, grapes, sweetcorn and peppers. Boiled eggs and a sunflower represent Delia’s previous books, while a heart-shaped cake mould signifies how she is loved by the entire nation.
Commenting on his work, Marc Quinn says, ‘Rather than choosing materials such as bronze or marble, I decided to use items which everyone can find in their kitchen. I wanted to demystify art making, in the same way that Delia has demystified cooking. So I simply walked into a supermarket and bought a lot of different food.
‘There’s a direct correlation between making a sculpture and cooking. In both cases, you take many separate elements and combine them to make a work of art. I think that everyone who cooks is an artist in their own way.’
To make the sculpture, many precise measurements were taken of Delia’s head and these were translated into a model in clay, which in turn was used to make the mould. Marc then filled this with 50 bars of melted chocolate, before arranging elements of fruit and other foods around it, selecting each piece for maximum colour, impact and metaphor.
Although the actual sculpture was destroyed after being photographed, you can see a huge, six-foot version of the image at Selfridges in London W1 from 16 October for six weeks.
- The first four books in The Delia Collection are: Chocolate, Soup, Fish and Chicken)]*.
Click here to order these stylish hardbacks, published by BBC Worldwide, at the special price of £6.99 each (usually £9.99)
