EVENT: Introduction to Renaissance Sugar Sculpture

May 19, 2017 Tasha Marks

The Renaissance was not all art and architecture, for many people the dinner table held as much splendour and spectacle than any painting or sculpture. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the dessert course, where sugar was not just a food it was ‘an artistic medium of tremendous flexibility’. In AVM Curiosities’ Introduction to Renaissance Sugar Sculpture this tasty and transient medium is explored. Through historical images and contemporary objects the story of our sweet tooth will be told; from form and function, to trade routes and techniques, visitors will learn about the artistry of sugar and how in the Renaissance you could assert your power, your politics and your status, just through dessert.

Also look out for AVM's Cherry Marchpanes at the "secret bar".
The first 100 visitors will get one of these special-edition Renaissance inspired edibles...

PHOTOS: Pride, Prejudice & Perceptions

May 15, 2017 Tasha Marks

Pride, Prejudice & Perceptions is an interactive sensory exploration of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, created by AVM Curiosities & Type Tasting for the British Academy’s Literature Week.

Taking inspiration from the typography found in three editions of this classic novel, Pride, Prejudice & Perceptions uses type, sound, sight and scent to serve one story three ways.

Pride, Prejudice & Perceptions | AVM Curiosities & Type Tasting
The British Academy | 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
15 – 19 May 2017 | FREE ENTRY
For more information please click here.

Part of the Open Senses Festival.

PHOTOS: Alabaster Ruins

January 31, 2017 Tasha Marks

Alabaster Ruins by AVM Curiosities is on show as part of the exhibition, Collecting Europe, at the Victoria & Albert Museum | Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL | The installation can be found in The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries, Room 21a | 1 - 7 February 2017 | Click here for more information.

Photos - 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 © Tasha Marks
Photos: 15 & 16 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Photos: 3, 5 & 6 © Joe Sarah

MENU: Victorian Afternoon Tea

January 27, 2017 Tasha Marks

Victorian Afternoon Tea - Photo: courtesy of Benugo

SCULPTURE: Alabaster Ruins

January 12, 2017 Tasha Marks

Alabaster Ruins (making of) Photo - Tasha Marks (17) lo-res

Alabaster Ruins is a contemporary sugar sculpture, taking inspiration from stone, marble and the banqueting tables of the Elizabethan Era. The installation celebrates European architectural heritage, bringing together fragments of English Tudor, French Gothic, German Baroque and Classical Greek structures. Throughout the early modern period sugar was a true luxury, with sugar sculptures becoming synonymous with status, identity and power. Drawing on this history, Alabaster Ruins combines ancient and modern techniques, using a 17th century ‘sugar-plate’ recipe alongside cutting-edge 3D printing technology. The forms, scanned and cast from the V&A’s own collection, are transformed into transient ruins - pointing to the ephemerality and consumption of European culture, and the museum’s urge to preserve it.

Making of Alabaster Ruins (drying sugar sculptures) - Photo: Joe Sarah

Alabaster Ruins is part of Collecting Europe at the Victoria & Albert Museum | Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL | It will be displayed in The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries, Room 21a | 1 - 7 February 2017 | Click here for more information.

MENU: Lives, Loves and Loss

December 31, 2016 Tasha Marks

In December 2016 theatrical performance company Traces presented an immersive experience at Fenton House, Hampstead. For one month the National Trust property was transformed by over 80 invited artists, as guests were invited to wander through the abandoned rooms and unpick the secrets of the Gee family. Fictional narratives were interwoven with factual discoveries and site-specific installations, as visitors explored the reimagined Georgian house with map and candle in hand. Included in the specially commissioned objects was an 8-course menu of scented napkins in the dining room created by AVM Curiosities. The installation fused 18th century napkin folding techniques with modern flavour encapsulation to create the historically inspired sniffable menu.

SCENTED NAPKIN MENU

Leek & Potato Soup
Buttered Asparagus
Pork with Roasted Chestnuts
Potted Ham
Boiled Lobster
Apple Tart
Tea & Biscuits
Port

Lives, Loves and Loss: Traces at Fenton House
Fenton House | Hampstead Grove, Hampstead, London NW3 6SP
3 - 23 December 2016

PRESS RELEASE: Saint Francis Scent Chamber

October 9, 2016 Tasha Marks

Saint Francis Scent Chamber - Photo: Tasha Marks

Saint Francis Scent Chamber
Commissioned by The National Gallery for Frieze Masters
Mixed media with moss, frankincense and myrrh
22 x 22 x 53 cm

Founded by food historian Tasha Marks, AVM Curiosities explores the relationship between art and the senses. Championing the use of food as an artistic medium, projects range from museum-style exhibitions and sculptural installations, to interactive lectures and limited-edition confectionery. Alongside edible artwork, AVM Curiosities also work with scent, exploring the powerful mnemonic possibility of the sense of smell - closely linked to long-term memory. By incorporating evocative fragrance into the museum context, scent becomes a powerful tool to enhance and deepen our engagement with artwork and artifacts.

At this year’s Frieze Masters, AVM Curiosities have produced a bespoke scent-chamber in response to The National Gallery’s Saint Francis Renounces His Earthly Father by Sassetta. Using porous lava rocks infused with scent, this 15th century painting has been paired with the aroma of frankincense and myrrh, for its religious connotations and link to Egypt where the resins are harvested, and where Saint Francis’s is believed to have traveled to in 1219. Adding further depth to the aromatic medley will be a base note of moss; an underlying earthy tone, and a fragrant link to Saint Francis, patron saint of animals and the natural environment.

Saint Francis Scent Chamber
Commissioned by The National Gallery for Frieze Masters, Regent's Park, London
8-9 October 2016

EVENT: Queen Caroline's Garden Party

August 10, 2016 Tasha Marks

Brown Bread & Marmalade Ice Cream - Photo: Tasha Marks

AVM Curiosities are proud to announce that as part of Queen Caroline's Garden Party 2016, we have collaborated with a new ice cream partner, Ruby Violet, to create a pop-up 18th century ice cream parlour. Join us on the stunning grounds of Kensington Palace from the 18 - 21 August to learn about the history of ice cream with food historian Tasha Marks, explore the ice cream themed cabinet of curiosity, and sample authentic Georgian flavours courtesy of Ruby Violet. You'll be able to choose from Apricot & Orange Flower Blossom, Brown Bread & Marmalade Ice Cream, Chocolate Water Ice, and the controversial Cucumber and Ginger Water Ice!

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Queen Caroline's Garden Party
Featuring AVM Curiosities' 18th Century Ice Cream Parlour
Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens, London W8 4PX
Ticket included in entry to Palace | £14.30-18 (Free for under 16s)
18 - 21 August 2016 | 11am - 5.30pm

Georgian Ice Cream Flavours - Photo: Tasha Marks

PHOTOS: Summer Circus

July 24, 2016 Tasha Marks

Alcoholic Candy Floss | The Summer Circus | The Royal Academy of Arts, London | 23 July 2016

PHOTOS: Aroma-Tour

July 23, 2016 Tasha Marks

EVENT: ALCOHOLIC CANDY FLOSS

July 13, 2016 Tasha Marks

Join AVM Curiosities this summer as the circus rolls into town at the Royal Academy of Arts 'Summer Circus’: bringing the gallery to life with spectacular installations and performances, where the surreal world of the Victorian circus meets the RA’s contemporary Summer Exhibition. Explore the galleries after-hours as acrobats, musicians and entertainers perform against a backdrop of 1,200 colourful works of art, or experience the RA’s historic Courtyard like never before as you visit the dark circus drawing salon with Art Macabre. A night not to be missed, where alongside the circus tents, acrobatic displays and fantastical performers, you can sample AVM's Alcoholic Candy Floss at the Street Food Market… a taste of the circus with a grown-up twist.

ALCOHOLIC CANDY FLOSS MENU

Rhubarb & Tequila | Pineapple & Rum

£3 for 1 | £5 for 2

SOUNDSCAPE: Inspiration Late

July 5, 2016 Tasha Marks

Alongside AVM Curiosities' scent chambers at the National Gallery Late on July 22nd, we are delighted to provide you with a preview of Troy Hewson's accompanying soundtrack. Inspired by the paintings in Room 34, the soundscape will be played in the gallery throughout the evening. Plus it can be downloaded here for your audio amusement pre or post event.

EVENT: Inspiration Aroma-Tour

July 1, 2016 Tasha Marks

In celebration of the Painters’ Paintings exhibition AVM Curiosities have taken the paintings in Room 34 of the National Gallery as their inspiration, responding to the work with four specific scent-chambers that have been created to compliment the work. The four scents are not direct readings of the paintings but instead a series of stories that make you consider the work in a different way. Accompanied by an 18th century soundscape by the contemporary composer Troy Hewson, the subtle sensory changes in the room aim to engage and inspire in equal measure.

‘In many ways the things we collect can be just as revealing as what we create. It is a statement to want to own something, to assimilate it into our own environment, to make it part of us. The relationship between ownership and inspiration is what struck me most about the Painters’ Paintings exhibition. What art are artists inspired by? What does their collection make them feel? When I began to think about paintings in that way I began to think about what they inspired in me, what they made me want to create, and the aroma-tour began to take shape…’ – Tasha Marks

Plus bonus 007, sniff right near where James Bond & Q sat in Room 34.

PHOTOS: Lickable Leighton

June 21, 2016 Tasha Marks

Lickable Leighton: An Edible Architecture Experience | Created and Produced by AVM Curiosities | Leighton House Museum, Holland Park, London | Friday 17 June 2016 | Photos: Chloe Rivers.

JUNE / JULY

June 14, 2016 Tasha Marks

UPCOMING TALKS & EVENTS
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The Summer House
Seasons of Love | Hackney Attic
Wednesday 15 June (7pm) | Tickets £3-10
Click here for more information.

Leighton House Museum
Lickable Leighton: An Edible Architecture Experience
Friday 17 June (5.30-9pm) | Tickets £5-7
Click here for more information.

Books Unbound Festival
How to Dine Like a Dictator with Melissa Scott and Victoria Clark
Saturday 25th June (12pm) | Tickets £10
Click here for more information.

Crossmodalist Gathering
The Museum as a Sensory Space | The Wallace Collection
Sunday 26th June (12-4pm) | FREE (reservation required)
Click here for more information.

SAVE THE DATE
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The National Gallery
Inspiration Late | 22nd July
Click here for more information.

The Royal Academy of Arts
The Summer Circus | 23rd July
Click here for more information.

EVENT: Lickable Leighton

May 30, 2016 Tasha Marks

'Leighton House Museum has teamed up with award-winning food historian Tasha Marks to celebrate the acquisition of Frederic Leighton’s Interior of the Cappella Palatina, a jewel of a painting, which captures the artist’s fascination with the ornate interiors of Italy and beyond.

Super talented Tasha, founder of AVM Curiosities, has designed a bespoke menu to complement and enhance the historic setting. The unique edible editions form a taste-tour of the house; using textures, tastes and smells to highlight the history of the garden, artist’s studio, and silk room where the Interior of the Cappella Palatina now hangs in the Museum’s permanent collection.'

Lickable Leighton: An Edible Architecture Experience | Friday 17 June 2016 (5.30-9pm) | Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, London, W14 8LZ | Tickets £5-7 (FREE for Art Fund) | For more information please visit the museum website or eventbrite listing.

*Please note that entry does not guarantee participation in the tastings.
Edibles will be issued on a first come first served basis.

MENU: Historical Aphrodisiacs

February 24, 2016 Tasha Marks

Historical Aphrodisiacs Menu | Produced and created by AVM Curiosities
The National Gallery, Valentine's Late, London | Friday 12 February 2016

EVENT PHOTOS: Historical Aphrodisiacs

February 24, 2016 Tasha Marks

Historical Aphrodisiacs | The National Gallery, London | Room 30 | Friday 12 February 2016.

EVENT: Historical Aphrodisiacs

January 27, 2016 Tasha Marks

Start your Valentine's weekend with an evening of special events inspired by themes of love and romance at The National Gallery. Expect live music, drop-in drawing sessions, guided tours and a whole host of free activities - plus don't miss the pop-up bar in the Sainsbury Wing Foyer and the last late opening of Visions of Paradise.

The evening's festivities include; Fascinating Fascinators with the Glam Hatters, The Language of Fans with the curators of the Fan Museum, Courtly Dancing with dancers and musicians from Renaissance Footnotes, and Historical Aphrodisiacs with AVM Curiosities - join us in Room 30 for this titillating taste of history.

PHOTOS: Marble | Plaster | Chocolate

December 6, 2015 Tasha Marks

Photo Selection: Textures from the Late at Sir John Soane's Museum | 4 December 2015.