The Wish of the Witness

• A Wish 2011
  Quail wishbones, 23.5ct gold, perspex frame, 60cm x 8cm x 60cm
  My Beautiful Army 2011
  Quail carcasses, 23.5ct gold, perspex frame, 100cm x 8cm x 70cm
• A Wish 2011
  Quail wishbones, 23.5ct gold, perspex frame, 60cm x 8cm x 60cm
   
   
• My Beautiful Army 2011
  Quail carcasses, 23.5ct gold, perspex frame, 100cm x 8cm x 70cm
   
   
• My Beautiful Army 2011
  Quail carcasses, 23.5ct gold, perspex frame, 100cm x 8cm x 70cm
   
   
• Gill Slits 2011
  Skate bones, metal clips, perspex box, 45cm x 45cm x 50cm
   
   
• Skirts up Please 2011
  Scallop skirts, lead beads, 23.5ct gold, fishing line, 50cm x 50cm x 45cm
   
   
• Skirts up Please (detail) 2011
  Scallop skirts, lead beads, 23.5ct gold, fishing line, 50cm x 50cm x 45cm
   
   
• Ladies Purse 1-4 2011
  Sheep testicle purse lined with silk, antique frame and chain, various sizes
   
   
• Golden Jaw 2011
  12 rabbit jaw bones gilded with 23.5 ct gold, black board, perspex box, 30cm x 8cm x 30cm
   
   
• Witness of Virility 2 and 3 2011
  Sheep testicles, light box, wooden frame, 59cm x 35cm x 17cm
   
   

Elpida was the first ‘artist-in-restaurant’ at Pied à Terre, Michelin-starred restaurant in London. Her solo exhibition The Wish of the Witness was the culmination of the 8 month residency (2011).

The Wish of the Witness incorporated 10 sculptural and installation works made primarily using raw materials sourced from the restaurant’s kitchen. These included: quail carcasses and wishbones, scallop skirts and corals, sheep testicles, fish skins and bones. Elpida carefully cleaned and preserved these unlikely materials, transforming them into new, beautiful sculptural forms. The objects in the exhibition sought to position themselves somewhere between the beautiful and the brutal, through a process of ‘recomposing decomposition’.

The Wish of the Witness was the result of in-depth research and close collaboration with the chefs; it was heavily influenced by the restaurant’s daily routines and changing menus.