Bittersweet Confections

Oct 28

Violent indulgences in Lindslee’s Eat All You Can.

Words Sean Carballo
October 28, 2024

"Welcome (Caramel Cake)", 2024, acrylic on canvas.

Recently concluded at the Drawing Room in Makati City, Lindslee’s latest exhibition titled Eat All You Can featured sculptural paintings of cakes, drawing on a culture of overindulgence. A native of Negros, Lindslee seems most interested in exploring how his childhood experience of food and sugar coincides with the mundane and ironic complexities of adulthood. “Birthday celebrations in my family were marked by my mother’s enthusiastic preparation of cakes and food,” Lindslee recounts, “bringing a sense of joy and togetherness.” The cakes presented in Eat All You Can are lovingly rendered with an air of nostalgia. Lindslee worked with icing bags to apply the paint, adding layers of texture and depth to each canvas. From sans rival to chiffon and red velvet, Lindslee’s rendering of each cake is specific and detailed: the colors, designs, and layers are attuned to each cake variant

"Retired (Chiffon Cake)", 2024, acrylic on canvas.

As brilliantly conceived as the cakes are, their structures only serve as vehicles for the text Lindslee inscribes on them, which are sardonic, sometimes witty, reversals of what we come to expect from cake greetings. “Happy Birthday,” reads a caramel cake, “your wish will never come true.” Other cakes feature similarly negative messaging: “Welcome Home nobody likes you” and “Surprise it’s a trap.” In these cakes, Lindslee draws on the contrast between celebration and cruelty, forging a visual language that’s sharp and sweet at the same time.