exhibition promo poster


british artist lennie payne first began experimenting with creating images on toast
as a form for entertainment for his daughter. since then, his toast art has evolved
into intricate portraits of celebrity figures such as amy winehouse and barack obama.



left: amy winehouse
right: heinz baked beanz
image © lennie payne


for payne, bread represents 'a basic human need for survival and a great means to look
at spirituality of everyday life'. the use of famous faces is an examination into our
media obsession with the celebrity culture. at the same time, his toasted art pieces
hopes to reveal the humane side of a superficial industry as seen with a striking black
and white portrait of amy winehouse.




a nude figure is being created using lightly toasted bread, 2006
image courtesy BBC


in the creation of his toast art, payne's process includes blow torching the bread, turning
it black and then scraping the toast to achieve different shades. finally, the bread is
lacquered and resin soaked.

payne in collaboration with british fashion label donnelly24 will be presenting his toasted
art series at the 'where is the love' exhibition until may 24, 2010 in london.



lennie payne blowtorching bread for his portrait of X-factor judge simon cowell
image © PA wire



marc bolan
image © lennie payne