Illustrator and designer, Alice Oehr, has always been majorly obsessed with food and all of its relating imagery. Her equal love for croissants and cats always find their way into her work, which has adorned books, branding, textiles, and homewares, and contains many layers of textures, vivid colors, and patterns. So it’s no surprise that her debut solo show “Freshly Wrapped” surrounds food, more specifically the story of fresh produce and plastic.
For most of us, “fresh” produce means plucking our bananas, oranges, apples, and tomatoes from mesh bags, or tearing them cellophane, and unwrapping them from woven protective layers of foam. We un-peel stickers, rub off wax and untangle elastic bands. Trimmed, polished, stamped and sealed—it’s not as nature intended it, but this is freshness as many know it. Oehr’s new body of work, a collection of gorgeous silkscreened posters, depicts how layers of packaging have become like a second skin to our fruit and vegetables.
Vibrancy is the one word we immediately think of when it comes to describing Oehr’s work. Although stemming from her use of color, it is also the result of her technique and approach, combining her love of food, pattern, collage, and drawing. Her work is loud, but well-balanced and colorful—at once masterful and innocent.
“Freshly Wrapped” is now showing at Lamington Drive in Melbourne. For more from Alice follow her on Instagram: @aliceoehr, or head to her website: www.aliceoehr.com.
