Gabi Charest

Baking appeared in my life as a way to release my anxieties. As I acknowledge my journey in  this hobby I found comfort in what was my misery and through this, I found comfort in the  history of baking for women. We notably link a gendered type of care and nurturing in our  culture with baking, especially the domestic sweet and pie sort as opposed to the technical  professional pastry. Historically the “hobby” is discredited because it is historically a female  tradition in a society was founded on misogyny. Yet for most women baking is empowering and  serves as an escape route from the chaos. There is a constant push and pull of perfection and  the unknown. All of the ingredients could be perfectly measured and the result might be  completely unexpected. There is power in the trust that one must have in the process. Looking  into the process my work delves into the formalist grid structure of high art and dismantles the  harsh structure with elements of personal touch and human error. By subverting the norm using  parchment paper as art material I wanted to tap into the pain and life experiences of my life  and every woman that exists now and in the past. I did not want to portray women as passive  victims as there is anger after the hurt. The process of not only folding the paper but baking  over time and collecting the used material taps into the time-based aspects of works that look  into the exploration of private into the public sphere. Deconstructing baking to its most  minimalist qualities lends itself to a multitude of ideas. Each oil mark and fleck of pastry stuck  on tells its own story of the mood and emotions I was feeling when I felt to need to bake.  There is a forgotten conversation regarding women in the kitchen particularly baking within the  high Art world which I why I chose to display it as canvas.