"Shortcake Girls" Takeishi Sayo October 2016th - October 10st, 17
Venue: Art Gallery T+
Date: July 2016st (Monday) - August 10th (Friday), 17
Exhibitor: Takeishi Sayo (4th year student in the Visual Design field)
A girl is always happy if she has shortcake.
T+review
The smiling faces of girls eating cake shine across the entire wall. The fluffy white shortcake seems to be a symbol of happiness, and the bright red of the strawberries on top of the whipped cream stands out. "Shortcake Girls" is an exhibition displaying photographs capturing the moment when girls gobble down shortcake with their bare hands. There are over 100 photographs. One might wonder if it is uncouth that the artist managed to procure that many cakes, but the photographs seem to have such a euphoric power that they push such thoughts aside. In fact, just looking at the smiling faces in the photographs fills one with an indescribable joy. Is cake really capable of such power?
The artist's caption reads, "Cake is always happiness." Cake can certainly be said to be a symbol of happiness. It is not uncommon to see cake on the dinner table on birthdays and other celebratory occasions, Christmas, anniversaries, etc., even in ordinary households. However, the reason cake seems to be a symbol of happiness is probably because cake is something to eat on special days, and at the same time, the food itself is perceived as having special value. Cake is not something that is always on the dinner table like white rice. I think many people have had a highly specialized image of cake since childhood, as something to eat specially on special days. Because of this instilled awareness, rather than "eating cake to celebrate a special day," they unconsciously recognize it as "eating cake is something special and joyful," and so cake itself may feel like a special food.
This Western-style confectionery, familiar to most families but somehow special, brings out a variety of happy expressions. From the carefully captured photographs, I felt the power of happiness that cake possesses. (Yamazaki Shoka)
