Artist's Palate: Viviane Sassen's artichokes

Viviane Sassen’s artichokes with vinaigrette

‘Les Brothers’ mirror, £375, by Paolo Cappello, for Miniforms, from The Conran Shop. Marble bowl, £16, by Broste Copenhagen, from Goodhood. ‘Highland Falls 4’ matt emulsion, £24 per 2.5 litres, by Dulux. Interiors: Olly Mason. Food: Matthew Ford

(Image credit: Philippe Fragniere)

Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen has never been one for conventions. Her career is remarkable for its restless energy, especially in its blurring of the lines between fashion photography and art. Her images offer glimpses of unguarded moments in the lives of her subjects – backs are often turned as if to protect a secret or the attention has been diverted to something happening off-camera. As we noted in our piece on Sassen’s ‘Pikin Slee’ (W*192), a moving documentary of a village in the Suriname rainforests, she ‘approaches her subjects almost like a sculptor who knows that light and shadow can create spaces’. Ironic, then, that one of her favourite dishes of artichokes and vinaigrette – always eaten on her birthday – is filled with such sunny flavours. ‘Don’t forget to eat the hearts,’ she says.

Method
Cook the artichokes till the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. For the vinaigrette, mix 1 unit of mustard, 1 unit of mayonnaise, a little bit of curry powder and ketchup, 1 unit of white wine vinegar or lemon, and 3 units of olive oil. For each person, take one hard-boiled egg and mash it; then mix this into the vinaigrette.

As originally featured in the March 2017 issue of Wallpaper* (W*216)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Vivienne Sassen’s website

Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.