I wanted to work with a chef to make people think about:
What is art?
Who is an artist?
Sarah is a particularly poignant choice; an exceptional master with food; who takes particular care with finishing her creations with true artistic detail and care.
Working with a young female chef also invites the audience to consider how women are perceived in our society, and the disparity between traditional roles of women in food preparation vs the traditionally male dominated industry of professional chefs.
Professionally, I am a property photographer. I have used some of my existing images from the inner city as a base for my artwork.
Using photo compositing, I have merged photographs to create a scene that is now a quirky and surreal landscape. The space is out of context or character for a portrait of a chef. There is no kitchen, there are no tables or diners. I want to encourage the audience think about where she is & why, and to consider important questions around gender equity, women in our society and who/what we accept as art and artist.
Karen interviews Sarah:
Do you see yourself as an artist? How/why?
Chefs in the widest scheme are absolutely artists. A lot of work is put into every single plate that goes out into a restaurant.
It takes time, prep, hard work, and a creative brain. This includes not just flavours and freshness but colours, placement on plates and textures. There’s a place for every type of chef, cook, home cook. Fine dining, cafes, fast food, hangover feeds. It is an art in every sense.
As a female Chef, are there any things you’d like seen or heard by the wider community?
As an industry it is a male dominated arena usually. But balance in a kitchen is an absolute must. Without going too far out of field women are as important as men, not just in a physical sense, they have different thought processes and organisation skills just like in any job. I know women that work physically harder than men and men that are absolute geniuses. So it’s much of a muchness. This doesn’t depend on the sex of a person though. It’s purely just about passion. I guess the moral of the story is you get out what you put in and in the kitchen that is extremely prevalent. In the old days there was a lot of sexism, but these days things have changed and are forever changing. I think sharing the creativity and getting a chance to do what you’re good at is proof." - Karen Brown
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We Are is a multi-location multimedia photographic experience highlighting creative women of Newcastle, commencing on Wednesday March 8th 2023 (International Women’s Day) and culminating in a celebration event at The Lock-Up on Friday March 24th.
We Are is a portrait project featuring 20 WH!P Collective members turning their lenses towards fellow female and non-binary creatives to highlight the many benefits that a thriving and diverse artistic community bring to our region.
WH!P (Women* of the Hunter !n Photography) was founded in 2020 to embrace and create opportunities for professional photographers from the Hunter region by leveraging the combined skills, experience and credentials of its members. Fostering a culture of support, celebration, exchange, education, advocacy, action, enjoyment, play and growth, it hopes to actively raise the profile of contemporary photographic excellence, education and experimentation in the Hunter Region. WH!P works collaboratively with those both within and beyond the local area who share our belief that the world should be shown through a lens as diverse as the real world.
*all references to women/woman is inclusive of gender diverse people
WH!P’s logos and graphics designed by Laura Kent
Chefs in the widest scheme are absolutely artists. A lot of work is put into every single plate that goes out into a restaurant.
It takes time, prep, hard work, and a creative brain. This includes not just flavours and freshness but colours, placement on plates and textures.