Mellifluous

Presented at ‘The Edible Body Farm’ at Bart’s Pathology Museum, 29 October 2016

The ‘Mellified Man’ is a medicinal legend whereupon an aged man would self-sacrifice his life, originating from 16th Century Chinese Pharmacology. The man would eat and bathe in honey until the point that he became ‘mellifluous’, and would begin to secrete honey – literally urinate, sweat and excrete honey. On passing, his corpse would be placed in a stone coffin and mummified in honey for 100 years or more. The resultant liquid – the ‘confection’ – would then be applied and ingested to cure a wide range of ailments.

For The Edible Body Farm, myself and artist Nuala Clooney prepared ‘confections’ which invited the audience to experience the sweetness of the Mellified Man.

Images, left to right: ‘Untitled’ (Nuala Clooney) mouth piece, cast in metal used to serve the Mellified Kiss; Mellified Tongues;  Glass cast of the inside of  Nuala Clooney’s mouth presented on a cushion of flesh and honey

Mellified Kiss – We performed a ritualistic edible experience (the Mellified Kiss) in three parts – flesh, blood and spirit – performed by Rico Johnson-Sinclair, and served using tableware cast from Nuala’s mouth. Soft, hard, runny, sweet, salty, citrus, honey, pork, bacon, vodka.

Tonguing – For those without an appetite for flesh, we created chocolate tongues.

‘Tonguing’ – chocolate tongues cast from a mould of Nuala’s own tongue.

 

Produced by Nuala Clooney & Kaye Winwood; Performer: Rico Johnson-Sinclair.