LAETITIA OLIVIER-GARGANO
"Kitchen Garden"

Laetitia Olivier-Gargano presents a new suite of artworks combining hyper-real resin cast sculpture collaged into painterly watercolours alongside a collection of food-inspired ikebana vases.

A love of food and gardening is celebrated in this exhibition. The title being a play on the term for the beautiful and edible potager’s garden, that is often found in country homes, Laetitia quite literally combines the aesthetics of food and plants within her works. Focusing on the textures and colours of the garden to explore the contemplative qualities of cultivating nature. This attention to the meditative beauty of the artists’ garden is contradicted by the juxtaposition of comfort food and everyday objects.

Playing with the combination of the beauty and the reality of the world that surrounds us, Laetitia brings the suburban garden into the home kitchen. Delicate floral arrangements emerge from a tantalisingly realistic meat pie. An egg salad sandwich is flanked by whimsical watercolours of this summer’s harvest. Views through the kitchen window offer a peaceful observation and time for introspection.

Laetitia’s practice is driven by a close survey of food, plants and everyday objects, through surreal sculptural reimagining. By blurring the boundaries of complex yet recognisable forms, her work playfully incites both a sense of wonder and unease. These edible and domestic items speak to deeply personal emotions, memories and associations. Her work often engenders bodily responses from viewers due to its intense familiarity, yet complete absurdity. Our stomach turns, and we want to look away, but curiosity stops us. It is this uncanny sensation and the universality of it that her works make us aware of.

Laetitia currently works from her studio in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. She graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) from Monash University. Her work has been exhibited nationally at institutions such as Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Cement Fondu, Notfair and Firstdraft. Her work has also featured in Broadsheet, Artist Profile and Art + Australia journals. In 2019 Laetitia received the Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists, administered by NAVA. She undertook research in Japan, learning how to make their iconic plastic food samples. Laetitia’s practice often involves ‘hyper-surrealistic’ resin cast sculpture, stop-motion animation and works on paper.

Egg Sanga Vase care instructions:

• -Take the inner plastic tube out of the sandwich holder to fill with water.

• -Fill with cool to room temperature water only.

• -To clean, wipe with a microfibre cloth.

• -Do not wet the sandwich holder (lightly water resistant but will damage if left wet).

• -The inner plastic tube can be washed with detergent and cool water.

I AVAILABLE ARTWORKS I