Food Glorious Food Contract For NAM
The representation of living or recently growing organic matter in a museum context is to be avoided as a rule, due to the effect the deterioration of these items will have on precious artefacts. This will make things difficult if a realistic exhibit is required to give context to the items being interpreted in any display.
The replication of these items is a specialist area in which the team at HRD are experienced. We can replicate all manner of items, regardless if they be organic or engineered. Some precious items can be replicated for security, or the item's preservation. Possibly there is a requirement in the display's design for the visitors to handle them, in order to provide context or inform regarding their weight or use.
Firstly we mould the item using hi-tech compounds, which are skin safe and do not harm the item being replicated. Then we make a number of copies from a suitable product, depending on the specific outcome required. Then comes the tricky part - we apply colour, dyes, powders etc to imitate the item's natural look.
As a professional modelmaker, replication is Joel's core skillset. He has been imitating items, textures, and architecture for many years. And so when NAM approached the team at HRD, with a view to producing food items for the Museum's upcoming exhibition Food Glorious Food, Joel embraced the challenge. The reproduction of vastly different types of food interested him and the job grew as it progressed from raw meat, vegetables, baked bread and sausage rolls, through to complete plated meals.
All moulds were taken from original foods, bread was baked by us to the size and type required for this display, meat was butchered in an old style by our local butcher, and plated meals were actually cooked and plated up. Food was made in resin, then coloured to match the original, as required.
Please enjoy looking at the images of the items for this exhibition below; they show some of the processes we use. And do contact the team at HRD if you have any requirements for a service like this now or in the future.
