Is it food or art? Show uses bread and butter explore identity, work pressure and more

“Is it real or fake?” That is likely to be the first question that pops into the heads of visitors as they observe pieces of bread and butter at JPS Gallery in Central, Hong Kong, where artist Afa Annfa and food stylist Gloria Chung are presenting a joint exhibition, “A&G Boulangerie”. On until March 1, this is a delightful exhibition that explores the social and cultural significance of bread and butter in our lives and the relationship between the real and artificial, the mundane and the divine. In the gallery, real pieces of challah – a soft, braided Jewish bread – baked by Chung are shown alongside realistic pieces of clay toast created by Annfa. The idea of bread as life and butter as spiritual balm is presented in a room at the back, where a clay model of a praying child stands on a column of toasted bread, facing a butter sculpture of Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of mercy more commonly known as Kwun Yum in Hong Kong. The origin of this quirky pairing began in Brazil more than a decade ago. Then, the Hong Kong-based Annfa had recently quit her advertising agency job and was dabbling in illustration and modelling – she was in Brazil for the latter – while Chung was there as an editor of a Hong Kong magazine. Over the years, the two remained friends even as they transitioned into new careers, with Annfa delving into art and Chung becoming a food and props stylist. Fast forward to 2024 and Annfa was considering ideas for her next exhibition when JPS Gallery founder Tim Yu suggested she could collaborate with someone. It could be anyone of her choosing, and they did not even have to be an artist. I tend to give personalities to different objects based on their characteristics Artist Afa Annfa She immediately thought of Chung and, within 15 minutes of them speaking, they came up with the concept of a bread-and-butter theme. Annfa says she has long thought of butter as an artistic concept. “I tend to give personalities to different objects based on their characteristics or traits. I think butter is quite a miserable guy because he’s unique, he has charisma, but he always needs to rely on some other ingredients to show off, to shine,” she says, adding that she wanted to give it a chance to take centre stage. For Chung, the exhibition is a chance to use her experience as a commercial food stylist in a different context. “As a food stylist, I’ve already made a lot of art pieces. For example, my client might ask me to build a 10-layer burger,” Chung says. “If you put it in a commercial context, it’s just a burger for Burger King. If you put it in a gallery context, it’s an art piece.” The exhibition plays on the multiple meanings behind bread and butter. Two highlights are ceramic plates called Make Bread and Break Bread (2024), a nod to the Christian tradition of sharing bread. On top of each plate is a slice of pineapple and a giant ant – inspired by a dish that Annfa and Chung tried on their trip to Brazil, where eating ants is an indigenous tradition. Another work in the exhibition, It’s a girl’s business (2025), is a painting by Annfa that points to how baking has typically been viewed as women’s work. The artist points out how gender roles and dynamics have changed – today, two women are using bread to headline an exhibition. “It shows the change, the transformation in how women can be positioned. We have so many roles, we can do so many things. It’s kind of like a revolution.” Next to It’s a girl’s business is 30-Day Love Letter, which consists of wooden panels adorned with pieces of painted clay toast. “Butter and bread are always a pair. They are the best companions, so it made me think about an intimate relationship, maybe between a couple, so it’s like a love letter,” she says. But the panels do not tell the story of her love for someone else – they serve as a visual diary of her relationship with art. Viewers can see the initial spark from when she first fell in love with painting, but will also see how the relationship evolved as she questioned and re-examined her love for art, as shown by the decaying and moulding bread. Meanwhile, Chung has created a variety of works using ceramics, butter, fruit and bread. They include Ribbon 1 and Ribbon 2 (2024), both pieces of challah that have been dried and glossed with epoxy resin by Chung. Amid the challah is The Pantone Colours of Toastout (2024), a joint work by Annfa and Chung that highlights the high pressure environment in Asian workplaces. “In Korea, there’s a term called ‘toast-out’. That’s the stage before you actually burn out, so you’re exhausted with life,” Chung explains. The work shows that, as each day progresses, people experience increasing levels of “toast-out” until they are rejuvenated on Sundays. The butter Guanyin is called The Identity that Melts (2025). That the Guanyin statue can melt and lose its shape symbolises the malleability of identity, Annfa says. She adds: “The outward appearance of Guanyin is imagined by humans, right? So if we can create Guanyin, why don’t we focus on how we shape ourselves as humans?” And, just as the Guanyin gives comfort, butter does too – in a way. “Butter comforts me because if you cannot find its standard shape, it means you can be anything. You can shape yourself in the way that you want to be.” “A&G Boulangerie”, JPS Gallery, G/F, 88-90 Staunton Street, Central, Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-7pm. Until March 1.

Is it food or art? Show uses bread and butter explore identity, work pressure and more

You can visit the A&G Boulangerie at JPS Gallery, but do not expect to buy a snack – even though the exhibition uses real bread and butter