Holly Halkes is a vibrant force, reminiscent of an unhinged Nigella Lawson, creating culinary chaos on carnivalesque canvases, loaded with gusto. A gastronomic painter, she speaks to our early experiences in childhood as well as deep desires for reckless abandon. She hungrily spreads, scatters and smears paint onto canvas with an insatiable appetite that says something about who we are at the core in our culture of infinite consumption.

Holly and I grew up together in the tennis town of Wimbledon. Our shared childhood experiences echo through Holly's paintings, imbued with a childlike navigation of the world, akin to the whimsy of dress-up play. The remnants of those times are unmistakable — strawberries, costume rings, cakes, and more. Halkes' style can be best described as a delightful fusion—a ménage à trois— merging the whimsical figuration in Roald Dahl, the order of Wayne Thiebaud at Patisserie Valerie, and the chaotic aftermath of an explosion in Aldi's clearance rack.

The exhibition derives its title from t.A.T.u.'s noughties anthem, employing the repetitive chorus to echo the rhythm and gurgle of the show. This title encapsulates the personal unconscious, the mental chatter, and the reverberation of thoughts being processed. I can imagine her listening to the song on repeat, just before hosting a dinner party for friends: whipping up canapes and guacamole in her cadmium orange kitchen in Camden Town. It sets the tone and aroma for the exhibition – the artist’s state of mind amidst the frenzy of making. Halkes' paintings bridge the gap between gut and brain, infusing her elementary forms and primitive shapes with the delectability of de Kooning’s psychologically charged paintings.

I yearn to suck, touch, bite, excrete, sniff, swallow, gurgle, and stroke the thick impasto paint. Halkes' visceral works delve into the depths of the human psyche, recalling the primal urges with which we first explore the world. Beneath the sickly-sweet surface lies a sobering narrative of the internal and external conflicts that we all experience: the challenges of self-identity and finding our place in the world.

The frenetic movement captured in a Neverlandish food fight unfolds in a greasy, hectic spectacle: a Quattro-Fromaggi carwash that's more salty than sweet. These paintings exude a dark British humour, as if Cornelia Parker detonated a Pizza Hut instead of her famed garden shed. They’re manic. They’re drunk.

The titles of Halkes' works resonate with the late 20-somethings, embodying throwaway comments suffused with "well-being" rhetoric, such as "Feeling Overwhelmed Lately" and "We Need Better Boundaries." The depicted figures play on nostalgic illustrations, reminiscent of the exaggeration in Quentin Blake’s characters with their whimsical appendages charging into the scenes.

Halkes' canvases immerse us in themes of chaos, death, life, celebration, obsession, abundance, excess, and the grotesque. It's a liminal space, blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction, euphoria and beauty. In this space, the human spirit is celebrated in all its sticky, complex glory, challenging conventions and embracing the essence of our existence. We are the narratives we consume; you are what you eat.

Text by Oli Epp.