Fingers off my painting
Tuesday April 19, 2005 08:03 - (SA)
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PARIS
- If art is a question of taste, the Australian painter Sid Chidiac,
whose works are entirely made of fine Belgian chocolate, has given
himself a head start in the popularity ratings. When Chidiac introduces himself as an oil and chocolate painter, most people assume they have misheard him.
In the past three years, the
36-year-old has conjured up dozens of works from pure chocolate -
complete with edible frame, canvas and richly-coloured paint -
portraits ranging from Marilyn Monroe to chat-show host Oprah Winfrey.
His tantalising technique uses a
rich blend of white chocolate - copiously donated by a major chocolate
maker - and a range of simple food colourings.
Since his first work in
chocolate in 2003, a painting of sunflowers, with honeyed yellow hues
fanning out from a heart of smooth dark chocolate, Chidiac has captured
the public imagination with his alluring, ephemeral creations. People stop and stare at my
work, as if they have seen something truly different, something new,"
said the artist, who grew up between his parent's native Lebanon and
Australia, and now lives and works in New York. "They cant believe it is really
chocolate and want to reach out and taste, just like when you look at
chocolate sitting on a table," he explained. The appeal of Chidiacs works,
which are shown at chocolate fairs around the world, is such that they
have to be cordoned off with stern "No touching, No tasting" signs, as
organisers fight off constant requests to sample the paint. While the paintings are fully
edible - and a few have fallen prey to sweet-toothed art lovers -
Chidiac says they are not designed to be eaten, although he says he
cannot resist licking the brushes clean as he works. But he says the mediums warmth, its heady appeal to the senses, is what first attracted him to the alchemy of chocolate art.
Each portrait takes between one
and three days to complete, and can last several years if kept in the
right conditions, away from strong light and humidity. One has even
kept for 10 years. Despite their relatively short
lifespan, most of the chocolate works have been sold at auction to
raise funds in support of child cancer patients in Australia and the
United States. Chidiac, who trained as an oil
painter, first realised chocolate’s potential while working in Sydneys
hotel industry, where he helped a chef prepare for a chocolate
sculpture exhibition. It was only years later, after moving to New York in 2003, that he started to exploit its potential to the full.
Chidiac claims several artists have tried to emulate his technique, which he keeps a jealously guarded secret.
"At every exhibition, I get
approached by chefs and artists trying to copy the idea," he said. "In
New York, an artist even came up to me and asked how to get the
chocolate to stick to the canvas." He explains that he stumbled upon the recipe for chocolate painting relatively easily, saying it came as "a real surprise."
"When chocolate is processed from
the raw cocoa, a number of things are taken out - I just put everything
back in," he said, giving away a single clue.
He says the medium does have
constraints, however. "There is a limit to the number of colours I can
make," he said, adding that he was looking at ways of expanding his
chocolate colour range.
Chidiac admits that chocolate
has provided him with a short-cut to success, helping him stand out on
the crowded New York art scene and attracting the sort of intense media
attention invaluable to any young artist.
"Chocolate is helping me move
forwards so quickly in life", he said, explaining that chocolate fairs
draw large crowds, sometimes as many as 100,000 visitors, a massive
audience compared to conventional art galleries.
He plans to branch out from
portraits into other themes, including a series of paintings - in both
oil and chocolate - depicting the ancient tales of Lebanese mythology,
to be housed in Lebanon in a museum shaped like Noahs Ark.
Chidiac has shows scheduled in
Warth, Austria on April 21-24, in North Hollywood, Los Angeles on May
14-15, in New York on October 22-25 and in Paris on November 10-13.
AFP
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