Dressed for ConsumptionCeramic The Lambeth cake style originated in the early Victorian era, where culture stemmed mainly from elegance and strict social order. These cultures created beauty, but also strongly dictated how women were expected to look and behave. They had to be polite, restrained, valued mainly for their obedience and appearance. Just sit pretty, waiting to be consumed. Near the end of the era, women began to beat back against these expectations. Organizing protests, petitions, and twenty years later finally being served a slice of what they’d ordered. In the 2020’s, the Lambeth cake style had a resurgence of popularity, bringing the changes and similarities between these two periods into focus. Societies’ hunger for visual indulgence is still present, though it is now more openly appreciated and treasured. Cake, a temporary art, is turned ceramic, a more permanent medium. However even the strongest of materials have their vulnerabilities. Ceramic can still crack, chip, and break. There’s no denying that progress has been made, but that doesn’t mean it can’t regress if not preserved. Atop the cake sits a face with an open mouth where the surface is typically blank. It’s developed an appetite. Don’t get greedy, this cake will bite back. |