Kitchen Studio
Food for thought
Kitchen Studio is a place where sculpture, food and ideas are interchangeable and digestible. The rules of hospitality will be broken, and nourishment redefined.
During the day, Kitchen Studio opens its doors to those who are curious to explore the sculptural dining room. And when the sun sets, the artist steps into the kitchen to host a provocative sensory journey for an intimate group of guests.
Partaking in Kitchen Studio is an invitation to play within the realm of gastronomy as you make your way through a series of conceptually driven courses.
Artist Elizabeth Willing’s large-scale installation encourages guests to form new perspectives on the modern diet by exploring, engaging, and experiencing edible materials.
“Kitchen Studio is a project that I have wanted to create for over a decade, and I am delighted to be able to produce it on home ground. This is my most ambitious creative project to date, and I feel confident it will allow me to open up exciting new facets in my work, and in the space of food design and experimental eating.” – Elizabeth Willing
Artist Statement
Kitchen Studio is designed for conceptual dining. Walking into the space feels like travelling down an oesophagus, swallowed into a stomach-like room. The curtain walls ripple like villi, deep red with ghostly prints that evoke microscopic worlds. At the centre, nine sculptural chairs sit in an arc, their bright pink and cream curves floating between the organic forms of bodily organs and plumbing – digestion and waste. This is a space that overwhelmingly references the eating body – one ready to host – but what does it mean to be guest here?
In the adjoining space, the kitchen staff can be heard delicately preparing. They blend bespoke teas, ready custom dining tables for each course, compose beautiful chewing gum blends, polish damascus steel plates, fill beeswax vessels with sweet nectar, and infuse shortbread with bodily scents.
A screen sits at the heart of the dining space like a fireplace – a hearth around which the guests will share their experience. The animated host video and its accompanying melodic soundtrack call attention, like a waitress in the dining room, guiding guests through five courses in a choreographed event. Dining is facilitated by three performers who activate the sculptural service objects. There are moments of intense concentration, laughter, curiosity and nostalgia.
The food served in Kitchen Studio is not designed to nourish and satiate; in fact it will make you questions the very act of nourishment. The five courses prompt a reflection on the chemical make-up of what we eat, the processed nature of food, and the ways our food is connected to site and psychology.
Hosted Activations
Purchase a ticket to one of Kitchen Studio’s Hosted Activations; a provocative sensory journey for an intimate group of guests as the artist steps into the kitchen.
7:30pm Wednesday – Saturday
2:00pm Saturday
Click through to the ticket booking page for Hosted Activiations HERE to purchase your tickets.
Please note: Kitchen Studio offers a unique experience that blends sculpture, food, and ideas. It’s not a full dinner experience.
Elizabeth Willing - Artist
Elizabeth Willing is a Brisbane based visual artist whose works are performative and often participatory explorations of food and hosting. Primarily working in sculpture, installation, and performance, Elizabeth’s work additionally takes the form of performance meals.
Elizabeth has undertaken professional development mentorships in New York with Janine Antoni (2011), with the Experimental Food Society in London (2012) and then with Thomas Rentmeister in Berlin (2014). In 2019 she completed a Masters of Fine Art at Queensland University of Technology.
Elizabeth has undertaken residencies at the Kunstlerhaus Bethanien (2014), Helsinki International Art Program HIAP (2015), New England Regional Art Museum Armidale (2018), The Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide (2019), Museum of Brisbane (2020), Urban Art Projects (2022) and Metro Arts (2023).
Exhibitions of Elizabeth’s work have been held in Australia and overseas at The Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin, Trapholt Museum of Art and Design Denmark, Tinguely Museum Basel, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art Brisbane, Musee Beaux Arts Angers France, and Perth Institute of Contemporary Art.
Elizabeth is represented by Tolarno Galleries Melbourne.
Dirk Yates - Architecture and Design
Speculative Architecture is a collaborative studio practice, led by Dirk Yates, that specialises in the design and delivery of public and educational buildings. We have developed projects with institutional organisations including the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council, Museum of Brisbane, and Institute of Modern Art.
Chris Howlett - Video
Chris has been a practicing artist since the mid-1990’s and holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Masters and Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts.
His works have been exhibited in Russia, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, the USA and throughout Australia. As a practitioner interested in the complexities of studio production his diverse background in contemporary art draws from machinima, interactive game mods, site-specific sculpture, sound art, AI, performance, sculpture and painting.
Chris is a graduate of CalArts and Queensland University of Technology.
Anna Whitaker - Sound
Anna Whitaker is an Australian sonic artist with a background as a classical violinist, recording engineer and composer.
As a composer-performer, Anna’s work has been featured front and centre of productions and theatre companies including La Boite Theatre Company, Bleach Festival, Anywhere Theatre Festival, Brisbane Festival and The Farm Company. These works have been written for a variety of formats, including playhouses, music for screen and immersive surround sound installation. The diversity of challenges – ranging from subtle underscoring and subliminal influence to heart-wrenching scores and floor-shaking impacts – share equal appeal.
Mark Isaacs, Ivan Sen and Cameron Patrick list themselves among the ranks of composers to trust Anna’s attention to detail as an audio engineer. A notable highlight includes a co-recording credit on Sen’s 2015 blockbuster sequel Goldstone. Anna’s freelance experience as a front-of-house engineer has led to gigs mixing for acclaimed international pop acts through to touring ballet companies in capacity theatres.
On most given days, you can find Anna in a sonic laboratory, dissecting and distorting sound beyond recognition for her latest musical offering.
Maisie Crosdale
Maisie Crosdale (she/her) is a Meanjin based Theatre-Maker, Producer, Facilitator and Performer. Maisie has a background in classical ballet and contemporary dance, and is exploring the synergy between movement and storytelling —namely through Physical Theatre and Visual Theatre. Maisie has been training with Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre Company since 2020, and in 2024 stepped in as Company Producer.
Maisie also has a particular interest in theatre and arts for young people, working as a Facilitator with Backbone Youth Arts – additionally as a Research Assistant at QUT with Dr David Megarrity. Independently, Maisie is the Curator and Producer of Object Collective; sustainable Puppetry and Object Theatre for young people.
Most recently Maisie has moved into producing as Studio1’s Producer. Studio1 is a micro-arts Organisation and is a dance and physical theatre hub for Brisbane artists. Maisie’s role is in delivering the inaugural Workroom Programme.
Acknowledgements
Pictures courtesy of Charlie Hillhouse Photography.
This project is supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
Presented by Metro Arts and Brisbane Festival 2024.
