From cheese wedges and leafy greens to loaves of bread and freshly picked zucchini, Eléonore Joulin has a tendency for playing with her food. In the Brussels-based artist’s work, a loaf of challah transforms into a vase, while a melting round of Raclette—a cheese originating in Switzerland that’s scraped right off the wheel onto baguettes or potatoes—transforms into a lighting fixture.
Joulin is known for her lighthearted lamps and vessels resembling vegetables, sausages, and other foods. She enjoys experimenting with glazes, handcrafting her own in order to find finishes and hues that create a trompe-l’œil effect—as if, for example, cabbage leaves were simply folded into the shape of shoes. The durability of ceramics adds a playful tension to her subject, as we expect greens to wither and bread to turn moldy, yet these never will.
Most recently, Joulin spent nearly six months trying to create a glaze-and-texture combination that would mimic wood. “I tried a lot of different ways, including an oxide juice technique and a fake wood rubber tool used by carpenters, but I ended with a combination of three matte glazes,” she tells Colossal. “I’m thinking of doing a cuckoo clock now—stay tuned!”
Explore even more on Joulin’s Instagram. You might also enjoy Stephanie Shih’s nods to “domestic bliss” and Naomi Peterson’s confectionary-inspired “cup-cakes.”
