Sound
Sourdough Starter
The Bread Portraits for me are a portrait of the lockdown. Making sourdough, the care and attention to detail that was required, became a coping mechanism or form of escapism from the daily anxieties inflicted by the hand of the pandemic. The strict starter schedule provided a reason to get up in the morning and added structure and ritual to the day.
Finding flour became a difficult task, notionally elevating its value. Once made, the bread was cut and eaten but the
final heels were retained. Each heel was unique, their structure and personality revealed in section. Their crust, dark
and light; blistered and cracked lending to a unique landscape across their surface. In these portraits, the heels are
taken and presented as a sculpture or artefact and placed on a plinth to be photographed.
Bread portrait III is composed, heels facing each other with space between. This negative space conveys the feeling
of social distance yet the accompanying sound of starter fills this space with the new rituals of occupation.
