Lei Saito developed an artistic practice combining performances and culinary installations at a very early age, which she calls “existential cuisine.” Her works take the form of spectacular edible creations: decapitated pastries, colorful vegetable landscapes, and fruit juice installations. Behind their apparent fantasy, these proposals are based on a dense network of references to art history, mythology, and language, between Japanese and French. Her compositions hybridize culinary traditions, eras, and flavors to create shared sensory experiences. The audience plays an active role, participating in the work in a deeply relational dimension. This natural approach is based on a balance between narratives and interactions.
Lei Saito
Lei Saito is a Japanese artist who has lived and worked in Paris since 2003. She studied in Japan and at Annette Messager's studio at the Beaux-Arts in Paris, then was invited as a resident at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Lei Saito is interested in history and stories that overlap in layers, which she explores through various techniques such as drawing, photoengraving, sculpture, photography, and installations. She is currently developing the concept of “existential cuisine,” an edible landscape. Her projects are proposals for an experience that is both delicious and conceptual.