lennie payne: where is the love

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