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Would you visit an art exhibit of rotting food?

by Community Team Posted: April 18, 2012 2:30 PM Last Updated: April 19, 2012 11:45 AM

Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Community, World

A new photo series by Klaus Pichler features rotting food in different stages of decay.(Klaus Pichler)


From congealed whipped cream covered in green spores to fur-covered strawberries encircled by flies, Klaus Pichler's photographs can be stomach-churning. 

But by capturing various foods in different stages of decay - in the style of a glitzy ad-campaign - the photographer aims to showcase the beauty of rotting food and make people more aware about how much food they waste, NPR reports.

The photo series is called One Third, named after the amount of food the United Nations estimates is wasted every year around the world.   

"If you look at [the photos], you get provoked," Pichler told NPR's The Salt. "Then you begin to think about your own consumer behaviour." 

Pichler purchased common foods from the supermarket, such as cheese, eggs and flour, and left them to decompose for a few weeks. Then, the decaying - and pungent - foods were photographed against a stark black background and under studio lighting. 

The resulting images are stark, yet colourful and vivid. 

There are plans for the photo series, which can be seen in full at Pichler's website, to be shown at Vienna's Anzenberger Gallery in 2013. 

Would you go see a photo exhibit of rotting food? Why or why not? 




(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)