Gallery: Incredible Photorealistic Renderings of the Foods That Power the Human Race
Kenya Hara01Kenya-Hara9.jpg
Is there anything exceptional about a slice of bread and a piece of bowtie pasta? Designer Kenya Hara thinks so.
Kenya Hara02Kenya-Hara7.jpg
An advisor and designer at Muji (the popular purveyor of covetable minimalist goods), it’s Hara’s job to study simplicity. He's done that here, in his *Staples* series.
Kenya Hara03Kenya-Hara6.jpg
Created for the "Fear and Love" exhibit currently running at the Design Museum in London, *Staples* highlights the most commonly consumed foods around the world. Here, a "xiaolongbao" wheat flour bun on the left, and a flour tortilla on the right.
Kenya Hara04Kenya-Hara1-1.jpg
Left, a single grain of wheat. On the right, a kernel of corn.
Kenya Hara05Kenya-Hara2.jpg
The differences that separate these staples might seem trivial at first, but they can inspire admiration upon inspection. “Should we not be more conscious of the thickness of the noodles and the cross section of the bread?” Hara says.
Kenya Hara06Kenya-Hara3.jpg
The differences in basic foodstuffs are worth noticing for more than their looks. They speak volumes about the cultures that produced them.
Kenya Hara07Kenya-Hara4.jpg
Pasta shapes, for instance, are designed to cook evenly, carry sauces, and manufacture quickly.
Kenya Hara08Kenya-Hara5.jpg
To persuade viewers to look as closely as he has, Hara chose not to simply photographs the foods in *Staples*.
Kenya Hara09Kenya-Hara8.jpg
Hara drew the images by hand, and polished them up in Adobe Illustrator.
Kenya Hara10Kenya-Hara10.jpg
A person’s city or country dictates the primary ingredient in his diet. Their predeterminate nature can make these foods easy to take for granted. But Hara doesn’t want that—with *Staples*, he’s lobbying for heightened appreciation.
