Photograph of a person, seen from the head down, holding a flesh coloured plate in their hands, dipping one finger into the food on the dish. 

Within, Sensual Eating by Juliana Lua, 2024 MA Design: Ceramics, Furniture, Jewellery, Central Saint Martins, UAL

University of the Arts London

UAL Showcase Collections

Culinary Contexts 

10 tin cans stacked together. silver cans with layers of labelling. layer one showing the food item inside and brand name, layer two with stickers.

Satirical project, speculating what a series of 6 canned goods could be packaged like in the next decade. “A couple of years ago, I was researching a project in the Sainsbury’s archive at the Museum of London in Docklands, looking at historic food packaging. The 1960s was this golden era, where packets were minimalist, graphic and eye catching. Over the years (and I understand why), packaging gets more and more congested, first with a detailed ingredients list, then calorie counts, then the traffic light system and so on.  “Food in Disguise is a fun exploration of how far this will go, with a parallel conversation asking, do we need this? Is food going to be so sullied, contaminated or complicated that this will get out of hand? Often our anxiety around things is unfounded. I went round a ‘health food’ store recently and looked at the cans of wellness soft drinks plastered with claims like this. As such, Food in Disguise is indicative of the current moment in food culture.”  – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Food in Disguise

A short documentary film that explores Chinese diasporic stories in the catering sector, through the filmmaker&#39;s parent’s lived experience. “Chinese takeaways became popular in the 1970s after migrants from Hong Kong came to the UK in the ‘50s and ‘60s. The straightened economic circumstances of the ‘70s meant that takeaways were a more popular choice than restaurants.  But compared to the fish and chip shop, for example, where the counter is open and there&#39;s a theatre around seeing what&#39;s going on, that’s ordinarily not the case in a Chinese takeaway, where there&#39;s a curtain or a door between customer and the kitchen.  “That opening up of that space is interesting. The film is      not just about the cooking itself, but about the processes that surround it, which is wonderful. Takeaway (外賣) is also a timely project. <a href="https://www.angelahui.co.uk/takeaway">Food writer Angela Hui</a>’s book Takeaway, about growing up in semi-rural Wales, working behind the counter of her parents’ takeaway, came out recently. And there is a cook called Xiengni Zhou (<a href="https://www.instagram.com/xiensscran/ ">@xiensscran</a>) on Instagram and TikTok doing something similar, making videos behind the scenes of her parents’ takeaway in Sheffield. This project feels like it’s part of that movement.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Takeaway (外賣)

It is a blue 3D printed piece out of bean waste with beans and bean shells around it. 

A revolutionary closed-loop design system that manipulates the waste products of a bean harvest to transform it into a fully degradable carbon-negative 3D material.“I like how the forms here are influenced by the beauty of seeds. This made me think immediately of the many wonderful people and initiatives working to preserve seeds, heritage seeds and ordinary but vital seeds that are increasingly being privatised. The idea of using waste products from a bean harvest is timely in an age of climate and ecological crises. Beans are also restorative for the land, replenishing nutrients in the soil. There’s a mirroring in how we grow beans and how else we can use them.”  – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Faba-Forma: Beans' Vibrant Palette & Waste 

Person sitting on the furniture piece in a cross-legged position or a seiza sitting position, for a straight back posture.

A solo dining furniture piece designed for indoor cafeterias to encourage better eating posture habits through its ergonomic design, while promoting a better digestive-friendly lunch break.“We pay so much attention to the foods we eat. But the way we eat completely changes our relationship with that food. Beyond the plate is interesting because it proposes a solo setup. Usually, tables are designed to bring people together in an organic way, whereas this fun intervention leans into the reality of how we tend to eat a lot of the time: alone. And yet it doesn’t feel lonely. “If it&#39;s just you, why not come into communion with the food in a more focused way, rather than sitting distractedly on your phone or whatever. Aesthetically, it’s beautiful. I like the synergy of form, a single structure bringing you into an accord with what you&#39;re eating, preempting the fact that it’s soon going to be part of you.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Beyond the Plate: Reconnecting with Food

Collage of four spreads in the book: Sunderland Draught Bitter, Castle Eden Ale, Batemans Ale and Moorland beer mats.

A book containing Paul Tomlinson’s and Ruth Tomlinson’s beer mat collections. Showcasing the visual language of beer mats and the graphical value they hold.“Pubs are closing at a rate of 50 a month and have been in crisis for a long time. They are easily romanticised but you need a degree of narrative around these spaces to make them meaningful enough for us to fight for them.  “For a start, these beer mats are gorgeous, but what transforms this from a nostalgic cataloguing to something more exciting for me, is the fact that it’s so detail focused.  “Often, you don’t even see the branding but the smaller elements of design that help you to understand what these beer mats are trying to evoke, rather than what they&#39;re trying to sell. And that evocation is part of what needs to be done to save pubs.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

568ml A Pint Please

An in-depth exploration of seemingly unremarkable everyday cutlery, reflecting on its history, examining its existence, and understanding people’s perceptions of it. &quot;From Table to Mouth draws attention to the paraphernalia behind food. Cutlery is such an intimate tool – one of few technologies designed to enter our body. There’s <a href="https://www.beewilson.com/book/consider-the-fork">a great book by food writer Bee Wilson, </a><a href="https://www.beewilson.com/book/consider-the-fork">Consider the Fork</a>, which looks at the history of kitchen objects, their effect on how we eat and how we feel about what we eat. From Table to Mouth is a wonderful project highlighting that there are so many variables with cutlery. The material influences how hot food feels in your mouth and your anticipation of that. I will not eat ice cream off a wooden spoon. It&#39;s just wrong! I like the thoughtful curiosity of this project.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

From Table to Mouth

A collection of ceramic monsters and vessels and a set of books. 

A collection of ceramic sculptures. An interactive series of ceramic monsters, food and vessels. An invitation to the audience to set the table as they please.“These ceramics are beautiful, and I love the accompanying book. Kishita Nayyar writes in the publication about the ‘endless loop of what do you want eat’ which I can relate to.   It feels like the second you finish breakfast, it’s time for lunch, then dinner, and then you begin all over again. It&#39;s exhausting. I found the irreverence of this refreshing, especially because everything is designed for one person. &quot;There&#39;s a trend in food art towards the hyper real like the miniatures <a href="https://www.japanhouselondon.uk/whats-on/looks-delicious-exploring-japans-food-replica-culture/">on display currently at Japan House</a>. This, by contrast, is offbeat, with a performance element. These pieces capture the weird physicality of food, turning this into something fun, more like a stage set than a direct replica. That’s wonderful.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Table for One Please

person using her hands and fingers interacting with different sculptural objects on the table

A sculptural tableware collection designed to playfully excite and delight your senses. “Within, Sensual Eating just delighted me. Obviously, there’s something erotic about these forms, which undercuts the seriousness of the Western canon and Western modes of eating. There is so much etiquette around the formality of the setup, how much you must separate yourself from the food through cutlery as a distancing tool, to keep things ‘civilised’. There is a long, psychosexually complex history to this. The tactility of Within, Sensual Eating is gorgeous. It&#39;s fun to probe, to dig in, to swipe and look. This project says something about how repressed and anxiety ridden we are most of the time. Brilliant.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Within, Sensual Eating

Graduate Awards 2024

Future sweets. With the help of different bacterial enzymes, plant-based fibers can be decomposed into sugary glucose, which is an important source of energy for all organisms. “It is quite extraordinary how FabriCandy turns industrially manufactured fabric into something edible. We&#39;re used to the byproducts of food production being made into other things, from fertilisers to animal foods, but this works the other way round, creating something edible from something inedible.  “I am also drawn to the weirdness of these candy shop creations – they&#39;re very Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. I like the strangeness of the shapes, the transparency. They read as artificial but perhaps have more claim to being organically derived than sweets made by some of the major brands.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

FabriCandy

Set of kitchenware for making gorse flower syrup

A set of kitchenware designed for making gorse flower syrups.“I’ve been in Cornwall recently and went for a clifftop walk and there was so much gorse! It was beautiful. What I like about this project is that it provides a perspective on an aspect of the British landscape that is easily overlooked. We’re increasingly seeing a revival in British foraging and British ingredients. But a huge amount of our natural biodiversity is left out. The idea that you could make use of something that is so easily missed is just stunning. The objects themselves are wonderful too, but it’s particularly nice to focus on something you walk past every day.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Gorsey

The image shows all 3 sculptures together. 

Caramel sculptures resembling drug paraphernalia, this thesis seeks to provoke critical discourse on the parallels between sugar consumption and substance abuse.“In the Middle Ages, the wealthy would commission ‘subtleties&#39;, decorative sculptures that would form a centrepiece to a dining table. Once sugar became a major import to Britain, people began crafting these from sugar. They were quite extraordinary. -OSE reminds me of these Medieval sugar subtleties, which reuse something so sought after, so desired, in a way that deliberately renders it inedible. I found this interesting as a 21st century take.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

-OSE

Composition of layed out work, teapots, bowls, sculptural work and coffee cups covering concrete floor

Future 50 2024

Maison/0 Green Trail 2024

A collection of laminated coffee cups, which sandwich a layer of coffee clay between two layers of standard clay, created using spent coffee grounds.“The reuse of waste is relevant to our time, but in this instance, it feels genuinely functional and ergonomical, rather than performative, done to make a point.  I like the insulative properties of the cup. I think that’s smart. And the use of the coffee grounds within this process feels particularly circular. On a personal note, I was drawn to the fact it’s a collaboration with Origin cafe in the British Library, a place where I’m often a prisoner to writing!” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

ReRoasted

A person holding a book with a red cover and a glass of wine on a wooden table.

a zine that blends the cultural narratives and creative works of the Chinese diaspora in London through the universal medium of food—specifically, tomatoes and scrambled eggs.“Sometimes I find the idea of food as an ‘icebreaker’ is hackneyed, but the fact is food quickly reveals our differences and points of agreement. Here, the editorial framing of asking every contributor to the zine the same opening question is useful. It fractures a student group in a positive way. Giving people a chance to say which parts of Chinese food they relate to, and which they don’t, highlights that food culture’s plurality.  “I also like how the zine undermines a common narrative that food always comes back to ‘mum’s cooking’, which can be sentimental. Instead, it connects the dots across geography and culture and affirms the realities of being an individual, not a family member.  “TOMATO EGG is among a growing number of publications representing the diversity of Britain’s food cultures – many of which have come about through international students bringing in tastes from elsewhere. This idea isn’t being properly interrogated. There’s a sense that students come and students go, but actually they have a lasting impact.”  – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

TOMATO EGG Zine, Issue #1

MullenLowe NOVA Awards 2024

A short film and sensory installation showcasing a localised food system established by a Somerset micro-farm diversifying in the face of conflict, climate change and government neglect.“As Fergus Main highlights, so much of our food supply chains is obscured. This is partly due to geography because so many of us are concentrated in cities and towns and partly due to economics because there are so many links in the chain between us and the people growing and producing our food. Anything that opens up space for us to see what we’re not seeing is valuable.  “I like the interactivity and the tactility of the work, which playfully prompts people to consider the importance of farmers being paid fairly for their goods. Usually, the sheer scale of those systems renders them opaque and that makes it difficult to galvanise changes in the way we shop or to imagine ways forward. The Good Egg shows us what an alternative might be.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

The Good Egg

Photo of people sat round a table playing the card game.

A game designed to facilitate open, light-hearted conversations about food, for those who may find it difficult.“We often talk about ‘bringing people together’ through food. That can be meaningful, but it can also be quite generalised. Conversations about food can be divisive: something that resonates with one person simply doesn’t with another.  “The strength of this work is that it builds in that discord and makes it fun. By putting foods into a matrix of taste, almost, you see the connections. Within the game, there are cards about what you cook when you need comfort, for example, and about foods that are misunderstood in society or that everyone loves to hate. And that interplay between personal and broader cultural perspectives allows players to situate themselves and say where they stand.” – Ruby Tandoh, food and culture writer

Food For Thought

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