Socially, few things play as large of a role in our lives as food. We build our plans around food consumption and celebrate events with food on our table. It has become one of the most common topics of conversation. We create metaphors, using words like ‘hungry’ to describe an undeniable need, yet in its original form, that word brings us back to our source of life—food.

The continual presence of food in our lives is inevitable and undeniable, yet most of the time, we take it for granted. We know it will always be there to help us, comfort us, and bring glowing excitement to typically dull moments. Centuries ago, when hunting and gathering were a job and not a hobby you took up when you had disposable income, humans would harmoniously consider the journey of food. Now that we have evolved, we don’t seem to think about how something as simple as a rhubarb can come from the ground and eventually end up on our plates. Granted, the journey of food has become way more complicated, so nobody expects us to return to hunting and gathering our meals to consider the circle of life.

As our minds expand, we can find new ways to appreciate and enjoy food more deeply. We can take inspiration from its natural forms, exciting shapes and bright tones. We can explore science through the lenses of food and derive philosophical theories from the complexities of its natural growth. We can build metaphysical worlds around it, never forgetting that we exist because of it.

“I use food as a medium to get inspired by geometry, nature, and colours. I tend to get inspired by the nature of a shape. Of course, the taste and the memories that it holds matter, but the shape is where I really get inspired,” says Laura Hoyos, an artist whose main subject is not people or place but the most important of life’s little pleasures: food.

The life of food is not so dissimilar to our development. We can find meaning in ingredients and connect to them in a way that makes their journey special to us.

“Rhubarb is the first ingredient that I wanted to grow. I fell in love with it in France the first time I lived there. And I thought about it because it’s rhubarb season in the UK at the moment. So I thought it was this beautiful triangle between my identities: What I’ve been in Colombia since I grew up wanting it to grow in Colombia, the identity I built in France, and now, it’s rhubarb season in The UK,” Laura shares.

Everything in life requires preparation, whether it’s the work you need to do yourself or years of hard work and development, all leading up to a single moment where you reap the reward. For rhubarb to grow better, you have to prepare your soil. Dig in well-rotted compost to improve drainage and ensure fertile soil.

For Laura, her ability to see intricate artwork where others see simple foods was planted into a soil well prepared by her family’s artistic and culinary abilities.

“I have always been interested in working with food. My dad has been working in the food industry since I was born, and my mom is a photographer and designer,” Laura shares.

The right foundation is important, but creativity needs more to flourish. To grow in peaceful harmony with the soil, you have to plant rhubarbs correctly. Place the plant’s crown in a hole slightly larger than the roots, ensuring the bud is hiding just below the surface. Fill the space around the roots with soil and make sure it’s standing firmly.

Her family might have passed down Laura’s undeniable talent for all things creative, but it was her bright and colourful environment growing up that ensured the roots of her passion for art drew nurturing inspiration from the fertile soil of bright memories.

“I remember going to the food factories, and my mom was always there with a camera recording everything. I was always inspired by that fusion,” she recalls.

After the rhubarbs are planted, you have to make sure you take good care of them as they grow and develop. Water your rhubarbs thoroughly. Stay patient and avoid harvesting them too soon.

Growing up in Colombia, surrounded by food and art, Laura carried her talent into adulthood, nurturing her gifts through illuminating inspirations and collecting experiences that watered her creativity, helping it develop into something uniquely independent.

The art within Laura was patiently growing. Her life in her home country sparked her curiosity for art while protecting it from being harvested before Laura was ready to disappear into the world of her unique artistry. It was the time she spent in France that finally pushed her creative vision to the surface, actively propelling it to become an important part of her life.

“When I lived in France, I fell in love with produce for the first time. I used to live with a family that grew their own vegetables and fell in love with that. Colombia has great produce. It’s in this tropical land that has all these beautiful foods, but when you live in France, you find out how much people honour their own products. I studied art and art history in Paris, and that’s where I started working with my food history and food origin, and I got obsessed.”

To harvest the rhubarb, gently twist and pull the stems from the base of the plant. To ensure you don’t exhaust the plant, only harvest a few stems at a time.

When the time came to reap the benefits of Laura’s creative growth, she did so with care. Her work at Hito Estudio, a studio she founded, has become the culmination of her distinctive worldview. With her art, Laura gets to tell a story. A story that reflects the life of the food she chooses to work with as well as the story of her journey.

“I like to play with cross-cultural food because I feel there is an origin, and I love to connect people with art and observation. Food is something very ordinary. People love food but don’t observe or question where it’s coming from and why it is there, so I love to play with that.”

In her art, Laura wants to challenge people to look at food differently. A rhubarb that has gone through a transformative journey can be transformed once more into new shapes and figures. It has travelled from soil and seeds to become the ultimate storytelling tool and a companion on Laura’s artistic journey. Independently, it has also become an object that can be reimagined in the eyes of others.

Laura comments: “I want people to get curious and observe food from a different angle. Many people I just encountered asked me: ‘What is that? Is it rhubarb?’ And I was like, yeah. Then, they see the vegetable in another way. I loved it!”

The rhubarb, simple in nature, and Laura, complex and layered, came together in Laura’s studio, and their fates inevitably linked. For a moment, all the steps they took led them to each other as they came together and then came apart to continue their existence in the world separately.

A rhubarb plant will live on to provide more stems to be harvested, and so will Laura’s art. Her journey with Hito Estudio continues as she creates intricate food pieces, designs beautiful kitchen objects, and hosts dinners, where she introduces people to her new recipes and new ways of appreciating food.

Hopefully, after this journey, you will look at your next meal the same way you will look at Laura’s art, with deep appreciation for the process.

You can also now grow, harvest and cook your own rhubarbs, so that’s great, too.

For the ultimate story aftertaste, here is another way to enjoy your Spreadable Cardamom Rhubarb:

Go to Neal’s Yard Dairy. Get some Ticklemore cheese. Cut it into hexagonal shapes. Top with a spoonful of your spreadable cardamom rhubarb. Indulge.

Follow Laura’s work with Hito Estudio on Instagram: @hitoestudio

or the studio’s website: https://hitoestudio.com/

Keep up with Laura’s artistic journey on her Instagram: @laurahoyosc

or on her website: https://laurahoyosc.com/