A Ritual of Habits

Rosalie Yu. A Ritual of Habits. 2018. 3D Models, interactive video.

A Ritual of Habits is a collection of 3D models documenting every sweet that Yu consumed over a two-year period, compiled into a panoramic video. Despite the onslaught of commercial calorie and nutrition tracking apps at the artist’s disposal, Yu opts for a rigorous photogrammetric process requiring a methodical, lens-based encircling of each pre-consumed delectable, followed by a render-intensive stitching of photographic information. The process alters the artist’s rate of consumption; with the camera’s lens functioning as a pre-digestive of desire for each cookie, candy, and cake that advertises its sweet dissolution on its surface.

S_D/B: Has your creative practice altered, ameliorated, or otherwise defamiliarized, your relationship with this lived experience?

R_Y: Constructing a 3D model through photogrammetry requires images of an object to be captured from all angles, disassembled into parts, then stitched together in digital form. I found that this repetitive, surgical process turns photogrammetry into a ritual, transcending the mindless and impulsive consumption of sugar itself and reconstructing these objects as something new. (Reminded me of this show about “defamiliarization” I am part of)