Multilayered, bodily and texturally eclectic: this could just as well describe Holly Hendry’s art as her chosen dish for this month’s Artist’s Palate. The British artist – who has a similar way with words as she does with sculpture – takes sickly-sweet to a new intensity in describing her mother’s banoffee pie recipe: ‘I like that it is a textural masterpiece which takes you through all the layers of imagined production and consumption – whipped, smashed, squashed, chopped, chewed, savoured, swallowed, digested – all before you’ve got it in your gob. Buttery, gelatinous, glutinous-ness to gorge on.’
Hendry, who was profiled in Wallpaper’s October 2019 issue, is best known for inventive material concoctions and cartoon-esque, site-responsive sculptures. Whether it’s installing a giant conveyor belt of ‘skin’ encrusted with anatomical detritus, or memorialising a Crossrail digger lost in the line of duty, Hendry has a flair for animating the inanimate, dissecting history and science, and delving deep under the skin of her subjects. On 28 January 2022, the artist will open the London exhibition, ‘Fatty Acids’ at Stephen Friedman Gallery, which explores the ethos of the Bauhaus school.
Recipe for Holly Hendry’s mum’s banoffee pie
Ingredients
Half a pack of digestive biscuits
75g butter
1 can of condensed milk
2 ripe bananas
Double or whipping cream
A small amount of grated dark chocolate (and/ or nutmeg) to sprinkle on top
Method
Smash the biscuits and combine with melted butter. Press the mix into the bottom of a tin and chill. Simmer boiling water in a pan on the hob. Slightly open the condensed milk can and place in boiling water until the milk caramelises. Chop the bananas and place onto the buttery biscuit base, covering it. Add the caramel on top of the bananas. Whip the cream and smother over caramel and top with grated chocolate. §