‘Secret Ingredients’: VCUarts student’s solo show explores queer theory and food culture

Emily Richardson, Staff Writer

How does what we eat determine who we are?

Sally Wells, VCUarts painting and printmaking senior, seeks to address this question through their solo show at the Anderson Gallery “Secret Ingredients.”

The show is based on a VCU-funded research project Wells began last spring. They decided to take three aspects of their identity — art, queerness and their lifelong love of food — and mix them together into one project, Wells said.

“I hear all the time in the queer community, ‘oh, that’s queer culture,’” Wells said. “Well, if there’s some kind of culture, then where’s the food?”

After completing most of their literary review this past summer, they spent the fall semester producing most of the artwork for the show. The show consists of five main works, some of which are made up of individual pieces. The exhibition is a chance for Wells to show their work ahead of their research symposium at the end of the semester, they said.

At the opening reception on Feb. 17, a table in the center of the room displayed cake, cookies and other sweets with a label reading “Please eat the art.” Wells said they wanted to take the show as an opportunity to merge another one of their passions with art: baking.

“I’ve done a lot of projects in the past, whether it’s baking something for a critique to go in tandem with a painting or baking for my class, it’s brought people together,” Wells said. “I’ve realized that’s a really integral part of my art practice, so I wanted to make sure I brought that into ‘Secret Ingredients.’”

Writing and language are also an important part of the show, according to Wells. Some of the works are paired with handwritten text or manifestos that communicate Wells’ research to a greater audience, they said.

Though they can’t speak for other people when it comes to queer identity, they can share their own experience, Wells said.

“There is no monolith to queerness,” Wells said. “I can share my own experiences with food and how I’ve found out more about myself through the things I make, the things I eat and the things I enjoy.”

Wells said they hope visitors can walk away from the show with an understanding that there are always things to be discovered about themselves.

“Even if you’re the most cisgender, heterosexual, straight-as-an-arrow individual, you can still have the queering process in your own life,” Wells said. “It’s just a matter of conversing with the things you deal with often, and coming to terms with the fact that not everything is black and white.”

“Secret Ingredients” is part of the Anderson Gallery’s Open Call initiative, which allows students to propose exhibitions of their own or that they have curated for the gallery, according to administrative coordinator Monica Kinsey.

“We encourage students to think of the Anderson as a lab, like how in a science class you’ll have a lecture component and a lab component,” Kinsey said. “You get to put things into practice that you’ve been learning in art school.”

The Anderson works as a support system and consultant throughout the process for students putting together their exhibitions, Kinsey said. 

“Secret Ingredients” is not like any show they’ve had at The Anderson before, Kinsey said.

“‘How what we eat determines who we are’ — I think that’s a really salient question that Sally is bringing into the exhibition space,” Kinsey said. “They’re doing so in such a way that not only utilizes artworks but also utilizes actual food.”

Painting and printmaking student Zoe Brown led a show with their classmates at The Anderson Gallery a year ago, they said. 

Brown, who is close with Wells, said they’ve watched the exhibition come together in Wells’ studio, and they’re happy to see these familiar themes on display.

“I’ve had so many classes with them and seen them baking,” Brown said. “It’s really satisfying to see their work presented in a more established environment.”

‘Secret Ingredients’ is on display until March 3 on the third floor of The Anderson Gallery. The gallery is open to the public.