Art made toast!
What happens when we combine high doses of creativity, a few teaspoons of Japanese culture, a pinch of conceptual art and many hours of confinement? A spectacular breakfast!
Japanese artist Manami Sasaki lives in Tokyo and her artistic toasts have become a viral phenomenon which you can admire on her Instagram account, @sasamana1204.
Sasaki takes bread as a canvas and creates true works of edible art . This series, which she has named Stay Home, is a delight for the eyes and surely for the taste, although it must be recognized that instead of eating them, they make you want to hang the toast on the walls of the house!
ONCE UPON A TIME A QUARANTINE
In addition to devoting himself to conceptual art and illustration, Manami Sasaki works for a design company in Tokyo, which, like many others, has implemented telecommuting in the face of the situation caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
“At the beginning of the lockdown, I woke up late and started to get lazy so I decided to get into the habit of getting up early in the morning and that is where the art of toast was born!” , Manami tells Traveler.es
Since she was little, the Japanese designer has always had toast for breakfast, so this art, which she calls 'Toast Art', came about naturally.
JAPANESE CULTURE AS INSPIRATION
“Usually in my main work I work with original themes, but most of her toasted artworks are homages to Japanese culture,” explains Sasaki.
As a form of expression, the artist affirms that “The art of toast is a kind of preparatory exercise for athletes. I enjoy it".
“Many of the themes I have painted on bread come from Japanese culture and from great designers, all of whom I respect and admire. These creations require a lot of work and if I am not passionate about the subject, it breaks my heart”, she affirms.
The fact that 90% of her instagram followers were international motivated her to introduce them to Japanese culture and designers, “So I use both bread and text to show the appeal of the theme,” Sasaki explains.
A MOST ARTISTIC MORNING RITUAL
"Basically, I create a new piece of toast every morning," says Manami Sasaki, although she is sometimes impossible for her because of work.
And if you're wondering if he eats his artwork after so much effort... the answer is yes!
“They are my breakfast, so yes, of course I eat them, but not before taking a picture of them. Even though it took me hours to prepare them, it takes me less than 10 minutes to eat them”, she replies with amusement.
As for whether she has a favorite piece of toast, “they are all my favourites, but the zen garden and the blueberry gradient are two works that I especially like”.
THE ZEN GARDEN (TOAST SIZE) THAT GOT VIRAL
The little zen garden that Manami recreated on toast has caused a real furor on the networks: “the Zen Garden is my favorite Japanese culture. People from all over the world imitate this toast, which makes me very happy. In addition, this toast is the one that caught the attention of the public and brought them closer to my 'Toast Art'”, Manami tells Traveler.es
The ingredients? Sour cream for the sand (raked with a fork), macadamia nuts (the garden rocks), and matcha powder (the moss).
SAKURA: THE BEAUTIFUL CHERRY BLOSSOM
To make the original toast that recreates a cherry blossom (or sakura), Manami used blueberry jam and chocolate.
Once she is done with the painting process, the toast is baked and ready to eat!
BLUEBERRY GRADE
Blueberry gradation is a Manami original theme: "It represents a gradation in height, with blueberries getting lower and lower. It is a way of expressing the attractiveness of the ingredients”, explains the artist, who also confesses that she is not very good at cooking but rather at eating: “I love to eat!”
Manami decorated another toast with camellias (tsubaki) and she used tomato sauce, margarine (although you can also use cheese), mint leaves, and mustard.
THE ART OF KINTSUGI
At Kintsugi toast, Sasaki pays homage to This traditional Japanese technique that consists of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold powder.
instead of ceramic the base that Manami uses is sliced bread, on whose surface she spreads a layer of sour cream, she tears it open slightly and "mends" the fractures with edible gold leaf.
The final touch she adds thanks to the ketchup.
MANGA, ANIME AND MICKEY MOUSE!
In addition to Japanese culture, Sasaki has also been animated with the odd character from anime series, such as GeGeGe no Kitarou, created in 1959 by mangaka Shigeru Mizuki
But not only manga and anime, Manami has also paid homage to Mickey Mouse translating his white gloves into toast on a background of soy and avocado.
ARCHITECTURE, PAINTING, ILLUSTRATION ON TOAST!
Manami wanted to bring her followers closer the works of different Japanese and international artists.
Thus, in his series Stay Home we see from a toast dedicated to the bauhaus even big proper names like Mondrian, Picasso, Hartmut Böhm.
The ingredients of the toasted "Picasso" are: pineapple, dragon fruit, kiwi, blueberries, jam, dill and sesame paste.
No discipline escapes the canvas of sliced bread: architecture, painting and illustration. We can also find several toasts with works-tribute to the graphic designer Paul Rand, the architect Franco Grignani, the illustrator Leo Lionni or the Finnish firm Marimekko.
Tuttoquadro toast represents the work of designer Bruno Munari with mini tomatoes, seaweed, basil and sour cream.
Anything else? Yes, of course: toast-cover in homage to magazines like Vogue, La Vie Parisienne or Nippon.
When Sasaki isn't displaying his talents on toast, he is dedicated to creating beautiful illustrations in watercolor and oil.
Currently, Manami Sasaki is working on the concept art and plans to exhibit his work once it is finished. “I am also working as a member of an artist group and we also have a very interesting project in hand,” he says.