Investigating the cultural fascination with consumption and perfection, San Mei Gallery presents Inedible Harvest an exhibition by Natural Selection exploring the rituals of food production and the role that objects play in establishing and influencing social customs.  

Inedible Harvest is an exhibition drawn around a series of handmade vessels that are cast from eccentric and oddly shaped fruit and vegetables, which would normally not be accepted by supermarket norms. Reproduced en masse, these oddities discarded by the food industry are re-embodied through their extensive reproduction. Instead of being discarded, these fruit and vegetable forms are celebrated, turned into plaster moulds. 

The exhibition utilises a wide variety of clay bodies and glaze techniques, from fine Chinese porcelain wares to terracotta and black glazes favoured by the ancient civilisations of the Greek archipelago, to raku-fired stoneware clays with low-fire yeast glazes commonly used in the Baltics. The combinations are eclectic and unspecific, in aggregate combining to create a panoply of objects for eating, drinking and sharing in new collective rituals. Through the production of these vessels, the process of their creation comes into play as much as the exploration of the aesthetic qualities of organic materials and shapes. 

Inedible Harvest displays a common core of interests oriented towards environmental consciousness and sensibility, presenting a critical approach to contemporary modes of production and creation in the arts and beyond. 

Natural Selection is a partnership between James Binning, founding member of Turner Prize-winning art and architecture collective Assemble, and Farrokh Aman, architect and designer at Sergison Bates and David Chipperfield. 

Installation Views

Press

Aesthetica Magazine
Art Verge
Brixton Bugle
FAD Magazine
It’s Freezing In LA!
STIR World

Events

Closing Event
Saturday 8 August, 12-6pm
San Mei Gallery and Annapurna Cafe, from where Farrokh Aman will be serving Iranian dishes.

Interviews with Kate Handford

A satellite to Inedible Harvest, this series of interviews features the fruits and vegetables cast to create Natural Selection's ceramic pieces. Humorous and poignant, the interviews place these edible oddities at the centre of the conversation, and give them a platform to discuss everything from their selection for the project to their views on food consumption. The series is ongoing, and is created and hosted by actress Kate Handford.

Editions

Several ceramic works by Natural Selection are available to buy as editions from our online shop.