Madison Scharf

Inevitable Decay

Madison Scharf

Family

Memory

Food

Emotion

Food has always been an integral part of our lives, serving as more than just nourishment for our bodies. It holds the power to evoke memories, emotions, and feelings that are tied to specific moments in time. From childhood memories of home-cooked meals to gatherings with loved ones, food has the ability to transport us back to these moments.

I am exploring memory, aging, and life cycles but more specifically the concept of food as the holder of memories and emotions, and food and its life cycle as a representation of the aging process. My inspiration for my project is my Grandma, who happens to be struggling with dementia, accelerating her aging process and affecting her memory functioning. The clementine has become the central element of my project, serving as a vessel for my emotions and thoughts. The clementine holds memories of my grandparents, who used to share them with me as a child. Using clay as my medium, I have encapsulated my writings inside the fruit, symbolizing the breakdown that occurs with dementia and the natural decay of food.

The metaphor of the aging process extends beyond the breakdown of memory and food. The expiration date, a ubiquitous feature of all food, serves as an analogy for the lifespan of people. Just like the clementine, we all have a limited amount of time on this Earth, but just like fruit the inevitability of decay, rot, and expiration is something that we all must face. No matter how much time we have, we are all subject to the unpredictability of life and the aging process and sometimes bad things happen to perfectly good fruit.