Cake Mix

When I was young, my mom would often make themed birthday cakes for mine and my sister’s birthday parties. One time a cake featured a sandbox made out of sprinkles, with toy dump trucks and diggers lifting the sprinkles. I recently came across a vintage cake book I found called Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book, and the aesthetic of the book made me feel a certain way - a nostalgic reminder of the simpler times. I was obsessed with the absurdity of some of the cakes.. the themes, categories, a telephone cake, a market stall cake, cakes for girls, cakes for boys. Simpler times. I noticed that every recipe started with a packet of butter cake mix, nothing fancy or elaborate, no gluten free options, just plain old food colouring, butter, sugar and flour. I wasn’t sure if my mom was inspired by the trend of these Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cakes from the 90s, with their jello swimming pools, or their kelly green coconut coloured lawns, but they were art pieces.

Inspired by the vintage cake book, I created new collages and worlds that feel abstract, hard to tell that the pieces are made of icing, marzipan, and butter.