What We Eat Plates
Grocery stores are a carefully constructed illusion. Behind every shelf lies a complex web of choices, systems, and consequences: the waste of packaging, the energy of transport, the unseen processes that shape the food on display. Ingredients are listed, but what do they really reveal?
Many items are destined for the trash before their true life has begun, while others linger artificially preserved far beyond their natural span.
The treatment of animals, the hormones in dairy and meat, the genetic modifications, the colors, additives, and scents, all blend into what we now accept as “normal.” Yet, these everyday encounters with food are rarely questioned, rarely observed with the care they demand.
WHAT WE EAT PLATES invites us to pause, to reflect, and to reconsider. Through design, it asks whether the food on our plates truly matches what we think we see, and, more profoundly, whether what we consume aligns with the values, ethics, and care we hope to uphold. The work turns everyday objects into a lens for awareness, revealing the invisible systems and choices embedded in our daily rituals.
Designed with: Brian Ward (WEdid-ID).
Year produced: 2008.
Materials: digital printing on white ceramics.
Dimensions: ø 270 mm.
Photo credits: Harris Kyprianou.
© Constantinos Economides, Brian Ward 2004 - 2025.
