For 33-year-old Shanghai-born food artist Gong Hua, the pandemic sparked her passion for food design. Inspired by Salvador Dalí’s obsession with food imagery, she began exploring the ways food influences psychology, architecture, and art. Now, Gong works as a creative freelancer, balancing public relations, marketing, and event production with her conceptual food displays and installations.
Her work is experimental and subversive, often delving into surrealism and fetishism. Gong’s Instagram page, Who Eats Art, serves as a curated visual platform showcasing her best creations. She explains, “Art creation comes naturally when you are an overthinker,” highlighting her unique approach to presenting alternative perspectives on everyday food.
Gong’s portfolio boasts collaborations with prominent brands like Martell and HSBC. She values each project as a challenge to her creativity, ensuring extensive brand research before any ideation or execution. “My focus is always on the client,” she emphasizes, “Each installation or set has to revolve around the brand’s story and vision.”
Beyond her passion for food and art, Gong possesses a refined sense of personal style. Her wardrobe is a curated collection of vintage finds and pieces from sought-after designers like Dion Lee, Martine Rose, and Marina Yee. She embraces a playful approach to fashion, often mixing contrasting elements and dressing “inappropriately” for the occasion. “I don’t stick to one style,” she explains, highlighting the inherent connection between fashion and food in their ability to evoke emotional responses.
Gong acknowledges Singapore’s emergence as a hub for food innovation and artistry, fueled by a new wave of creative individuals. She points to ventures like New Bahru, which promote a lifestyle rather than just selling goods, as catalysts for collaboration, pop-ups, and crossovers. “Combine that with a country that already prides itself on food being its national language, and it’s hard not to get excited for things to come.”
Gong Hua’s work exemplifies the growing trend of food artistry, showcasing the power of food to transcend its functional purpose and become a platform for artistic expression, brand storytelling, and cultural commentary. As Singapore embraces a more experiential approach to food and art, Gong’s creations offer a glimpse into the future of this dynamic and exciting space.
