A friend of mine flagged this photography series in Google Buzz this weekend (by the way, who else besides me and four other people actually use this feature?) and I was floored.
The Excess Series by Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir (images via Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir Photography)
The artist’s name is Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir, and she’s a young photographer from Iceland. Apparently she was recognized as “the web’s top photographer” by the Wall Street Journal a few years back, but sadly her photography is new to me. Now that I’ve found her I’m happy to say that I’ll continue to follow her innovative and powerful work. This is my favorite image of hers from her “Excess” series:
(image via Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir Photography)
This series is apparently her personal favorite work, and focuses on bringing to light the inequitable division of world resources and the complacency that surrounds that injustice. She says, clearly and simply: “We take what we have for granted. Most people, even those who aren’t rich or living some charmed life have access to more food than our ancestors could have imagined in their wildest dreams. There’s an overabundance of material wealth surrounding a large percentage of the worlds population, and yet those fortunate enough to experience that, are usually the ones constantly complaining about ridiculously inconsequential little ‘problems.’ ”
Obviously, I have a thing for writing Monday morning blog posts about artists whose work focuses on over consumption.
On a lighter note, in each of the five images the photographer made virtually all of the props, from the huge “slice” of cake to the grotesquely over-sized drinking glass (which was a vase that she had cut to a proportional height at a glass cutting shop) to the huge mock Cheerios and foot-in-diameter burger bun. Love it: a cook AND an artist! She even had her brother craft huge metal utensils for this project. You can see all five photos from the “Excess” series, or read more about it on Pixiq here. These are the utensils I was mentioning…
(image via Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir Photography)
You can purchase your own prints here at the photographer’s online store. A 12×12 cm is $105, a 20×20 cm is $220, and a 30×30 cm is $415. Note the centimeters, because you don’t want to anticipate a 20×20 inch print and wind up with a smaller-than-8” square. I’d love to have a 4×4 foot print of this on my walls for sure!
Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.
Paint It What I Tell You 
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