"Don't play with your food" my mother would admonish, as I made fairy castles with my mashed potatoes and created silly faces on the plate with pieces of vegetables. Every mother's nightmare has become an sweet dream for artist Maksut Aşkar, who is busy establishing a whole new genre of applied art—edible concoctions of real food and drink that also have clever design integrity.

Gallery 44A in Teşvikiye will present Aşkar's "Edible Art" on 10 September for only ten days; the first five will be interactive, and the second five will be static. He will redefine, or perhaps refine, the possibilities of how we can convert comestibles into high art that happens to taste good. Afiyet olsun.

--
So did you mess around with mashed potatoes as a kid?
When I was a child I lived with my grandmother for two years. Although it was a punishment for me to roast and grind the coffee beans every week, I nevertheless learned her special alchemy in the kitchen. She became my role model. But, yes, I would always play with the leftovers after dinner.

Did you go to a culinary school or to an art academy?
During my education at Anadolu Lisesi and Boğazici University, where I studied tourism, I supported myself by working at night in student cafés and bars. I became fascinated with mixing drinks that not only tasted good, but were unique creations in themselves. As a result, my brain became a library of tastes  and I was working to invent things that made all of your senses operate. For example, I took the colors of traffic stoplights (red, yellow, green) with fruits to create them, mixed with colorless alcohol like vodka, adding other natural flavorings. The customer could mix and match any of them. This drink-based concept eventually became "Oyun" (game), in an interactive exhibit at a gallery in Luxembourg. For another exhibit, "Kök" (root), I invented 100% natural beverages based on roots and herbs, each one being different and unique, and actually kind of addictive. I only produced 2,000 cans, which sold as limited editions. Anyway, I became known as the "Liquid Alchemist".

In your last indoor exhibit "X-IST", you had a photo of a girl sitting in a bathtub of spaghetti. What was the response to this?
You know, I don't want to present ideas that seem so radical—at first. I'm here to create a taste for you, a product that creates a sixth sense along with the other five, but I also use an object, like a table or a mirror, which has inspired me to come to my conclusions. It also helps close the gap between the work and the audience, so they won't be intimidated or confused. But then, I'll proceed to blow your mind.

Does a food company sponsor or donate foods for your work?
Unfortunately, I can't accept the sponsorship of a food manufacturer because of the possibility of conflict of interest. They might object to how I decide to use their products. If I put a naked girl in a bathtub of spaghetti, would Barilla or Di Checco [pasta manufacturers] be happy about this?

For the recent outdoor Design Weekend in Galata, you presented some unusual goodies too (but without the naked girl)...
Yes, I created five specifically Mediterranean tastes. A couple of things were orange-glazed cucumbers and couscous simmered in grapefruit juice, seeded with cumin, shaped like lollipops, and put on a stick.

But what held the "lollipops" together; what was the glue?
My secret.

So what's in your fridge?
Enough chorizos for ten dinner parties, smoked paprika, Kaffir lime leaves, vodka, and two bottles of rosé wine.

And your cupboards?
Dried elder flowers and real purple thyme, and other things I get from friends who travel here from other countries.

Will your new exhibit make me hungry?
Well, the manifesto of this show is that 'Life flows in the reality of our dreams; eating is life for us once we realize that we live to eat'. And my company's ['Alchemist'] manifesto is to combine different tastes, mix them to bring out a new taste. In a modest way, it redefines our food & drink culture...strengthening our perception and vision of the taste of food & drink.

Does this mean that your alchemy helps us perceive what's right in front of us, but for some reason we weren't perceiving it before?

Exactly. And it's my personal challenge to surprise you.
---
"Edible Art" by Maksut Aşkar
10 September to 20 September, 2009
44A Art Gallery
Ahmet Fetgari Sok. 2/9
Teşvikiye
0212 233 33 80
www.44a.com.tr
www.maksutaskar.com