
Hotel du Havre Sponge Cake
I wanted cake, I wanted cake cake. I attempted to bake and present this cake myself, several times, but fell short. I called in backups and friends to come to my rescue and bake me the cake of my dreams the cake that ignited this collection in my mind and now in drawings. The plate is from France, the napkin is from Hermes. Sponge cake from fellow artist/baker Marko Hrubyj-Piper and cherries from Queensland, sugar from a packet, and cream for the icing. Victoria sponge. Hotel Du Havre Sponge. Cake for all good measures. There cannot be a dessert collection without cake. Now, let me eat my cake. The collection name was taken obviously and shamelessly from Marie-Antoinette. The collection comes at the same time as my book Visa Issues. Banished from the United States, I landed in Australia, making a new home in my old home and attempting to find the good, find the sweetness of my unpleasant situation. Something like “a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down” sentiment. The mug shot, and darker notes of the book sit alongside the collection's frills, icing, sweetness and sugar. Can’t I work as an artist on questionable visas and live comfortably and permanently in the US? Can’t I have my cake and eat it too?