Earthly Delights

 

On the surface, Debbie.Lee Miszaniec's Earthly Delights is the height of temptation – luscious donuts, seductive cupcakes and feasts for the eyes and mind. She spends hours painting the golden flakes on the pastry, or a glistening fatty sausage. Debbie.Lee's expansive banquet scenes reference historic foods, feasts, figures and artworks.

Stewing within the work deeply questions our contemporary obsession with food, diet culture and body size. Health and wellness ideas are conflated with images of thin and fit bodies. We use virtuous language in refusal, graciously declining the temptations of food.

"There are still health concerns for individuals struggling to balance the health consequences of obesity against the health consequences of long-term weight loss efforts. As someone coping with that legacy, I am challenging myself to talk about it through my work,” Debbie says.

 

Image credits: Debbie.lee Miszaniec, Debbie.Lee Miszaniec, Power or Glory, 2024, oil and canvas with sculpture; Portrait of the artist, in the style of Titian by Courteney Miszaniec and Logan Miszaniec, 2024.