There are a handful of Brisbane Festival shows still ticking along with seasons that extend beyond the month of September, and Elizabeth Willing’s Kitchen Studio is one of them. Located at Metro Arts in the heart of West End, Kitchen Studio is an intimate, sensory, provocative journey where sculpture, food and ideas are interchangeable and digestible.

Local artist Elizabeth Willing has been making art between the kitchen and studio for 15 years, with captivating mixed-media installations and exhibitions that excite and seduce the senses. Her work also involves performance meals in which the table is a stage for food-centric explorations. Inspired by restaurant culture and the human gut, Kitchen Studio is Willing’s large-scale immersive artwork that encourages guests to form new perspectives on the modern diet by exploring, engaging and experiencing edible materials.

Hosted activations, as the ticketed evening experiences are known, cater to an intimate audience of nine, but this is not dinner and a murder! Rather, the experience consists of five tastings, starting with a herbal tea that was themed around the E additive found in Australian food. Three large and weighty copies of the extensive tea menu were provided to the group: a clever touch as it encouraged sharing, sparked discussion over all the selections and immediately broke the ice. Almost everyone in the group chose a different tea which was presented in gorgeous glassware, proving to be a relaxing way to start the experience.

The next tasting felt reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and saw each guest presented with four shortbreads on a small wooden board. The only thing missing were the words ‘eat me.’ Each shortbread was infused with different flavours and aromas and it was fun discussing our culinary finds with the group. We then had a chocolate tasting and were told that one might contain a gold nugget, so it was safest to let the chocolate linger in our mouths. I thought I might have been the lucky one, but it turned out to be just a coffee bean.

Probably the most intriguing tasting was next which entailed a lavender scented and very aromatic mocktail presented in a vessel made of beeswax, which one of the guests thought looked like a gall bladder. There was an option to take our empty vessel home, which most of the group readily accepted. Finally, we were presented with a selection of gum balls, very much evoking the spirit of Willy Wonka. My gum didn’t activate until after I left and I felt like Violet Beauregard blowing the hugest bubbles as I walked down Boundary Street.

Our attending wait staff were actually trained performers Ebony Webb, Micah Rustichelli and Kitchen Studio Creative Producer Maisie Crosedale (who looked like she was having way too much fun in the role!). Dressed in army green outfits with pink logos and lavender Chuck Taylor Converse shoes, the team preferred to ‘show’ with non verbal gestures rather than ‘tell’ with words. Our group was able to fill in the blanks and worked together as a team to successfully and enjoyably navigate our way through the experience.

Kitchen Studio team: Maxi Mossman, Maisie Crosdale (standing), Elizabeth Willing, Micah Rustichelli (standing) and Ebony Webb. Photo by Charlie Hillhouse.

The space itself was inspired by the gut and the intestine, and as soon as we stepped through the door we were  enveloped by the curtains which represented villi, as though we were walking through an intestine and down into the gut, which served as the main staging area. Dirk Yates from Speculative Architecture created the design for the space, which was divided into a kitchen and a dining area. He cleverly used the main window of the gallery as a lens so that people could look in and see preparations underway before the scheduled kick off time (so be sure to arrive early for that). A soundscape by Anna Whitaker strategically punctuated the experience and video visuals on a central TV screen were designed by Chris Howlett.

Kitchen Studio was a unique and memorable night out and would suit lovers of food, modern art and immersive theatre. The experience would also be a brilliant team bonding experience for a workplace looking for something different for their staff, provided the group was no larger than nine people. Presently the remaining season of Kitchen Studio is all but sold out, however the occasional ticket pops up if a cancellation occurs, so keep an eye on Metro Arts’ website.

Kitchen Studio is presented by Metro Arts and Brisbane Festival and runs until 26 October at Metro Arts, 97 Boundary Street West End.

Tickets: https://metroarts.com.au/event/kitchen-studio/

More about Elizabeth Willing: https://elizabethwilling.com/works/2024-2/

Gallery Openings:

Kitchen Studio can be experienced as an exhibition with free entry, no registration required, at the following times:
10am – 5pm Monday – Friday
10am – 12pm Saturdays
(The gallery is closed on Sundays and Public Holidays)

Hero images supplied by Brisbane Festival.