"Sage Sorbet," one of local artist Lisa Khachadurian's edible art creations. The piece is adorned with a Shakespeare quote that reads: “Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?”

Edible and Edifying Art

Khachadurian uses food, a marker of privilege often overlooked by those who have it, to create artwork that demonstrates her passion for various social causes, ranging from fair trade to increasing access to clean drinking water.

By Dannie C. Bell

For some, food is a love language. For local artist Linda Khachadurian, it is a medium for motivating change.

Khachadurian turns edible materials — isomalt, chocolate, sugar paste, modeling chocolate, potato starch paper, edible spray paint, edible markers, edible fabric, and dried fruit sheets — into works of art. Her exhibit, located in the foyer of Cambridge Community Television’s headquarters, is arranged like an à la carte menu, complete with a “palette cleanser” entitled Sage Sorbet, a painted cone adorned with a quote from Shakespeare: “Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?”

Khachadurian does not seem to think so. She uses food, a marker of privilege often overlooked by those who have it, to create artwork that demonstrates her passion for various social causes, ranging from fair trade to increasing access to clean drinking water. At the entrance of the exhibit hangs a printed picture of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which portrays the span of her artistic approach — her advocacy focuses on ensuring people’s physiological needs are met, but her unconventional creative process is a form of self-actualization.

Khadachurian stumbled upon edible art after a lifetime of sculpting, painting, and fashioning with traditional materials. Her affinity for sugar later pushed her to venture into other mediums, particularly the edible kind. A self-described medical editor, Khachadurian founded Charitable Confections, a public charity that assists educational nonprofits in developing countries. She is also a sugar and chocolate artist, and hosts the show “The Charitable Confectioner” on Cambridge Community Television. Her current exhibit showcases many edible works of art meant to represent social justice issues addressed on the show.

Khadachurian believes the approachability of her medium helps draw people in. “I think that educating people about issues via a vehicle that inherently has that playfulness to it can be quite impactful,” she says.

Khachadurian has close ties to many of the issues she highlights through her art. She has directly worked on educational causes in both Armenia and Haiti through Charitable Confections. In addition, she researched safe water and water sanitation while writing an article for the Harvard Review of Latin America and while working with the non-profit Pure Water for the World. She also became involved with advocacy for homeless populations after befriending Mike O’Callaghan, a homeless rights advocate, while working on a graduate research project. As one of her pieces, she used chocolate, organic flowers, and isomalt to create a mini version of his micro living unit box which she calls the “Box of Betterment.”

The show will be on display until March 3, when there will be a closing ceremony with the gallery director, a few other “humanitarians,” and Khachadurian herself.

The boldness of Khacadurian’s work is striking; each piece seems to unabashedly demand attention and contemplation — and therefore change. Looking around the empty gallery, one wonders: Is anybody else seeing this?

— Magazine writer Dannie C. Bell can be reached at dannie.bell@thecrimson.com.