Chocolate, a confectionary culturally gendered as feminine, with connotations of richness, wickedness, excess and indulgence, holds both edible and moral dimensions. Its ambiguous (halfway between solid and liquid) and viscous nature, clings and attaches in a sensual yet threatening way. It is a liminal food with potent abject qualities, which Kristeva sees as a place where meaning collapses. For what is at the borderline or indeterminate is potentially dangerous because it disturbs identity, system and order. If the most significant borderline is that which separates the inside from the outside of the body, the Self from the Other (Betterton), the act of eating is therefore significant of crossing boundaries.

 

At one level, the work speaks of our consumption of stereotypical gender images and subverts this through the breakdown of these images in the body. At the aesthetic level, this work seeks the participation of the audience and aims to reintroduce to them their other senses – touch, taste, smell – which has traditionally been negated in their encounter with art.

 

The chocolates were made in collaboration with Stephan Dabazach, Head Pastry Chef at Hilton Hotel Singapore. They were distributed during the opening of Nokia Singapore Arts 2001 at Singapore Art Museum, as well as to Hilton Hotel Singapore’s visitors and guests.