pillars of piled eggs, spoons, and saucers spotlight the importance of a balanced diet 

andrea papi questions the paradox of our culinary culture

Piling eggs, pans, cups, and saucers, Italian artist Andrea Papi’s’ installation Pilastri (Pillars) invites his audience to reflect on the theme of nutrition. Inspired by both the mundane sight of a week’s worth of dirty crockery piled up in a kitchen sink and the grandeur of regal architectural porticos, Papi constructs towering columns that span the entire height of the room from the elements of his very own breakfast. Contrasting the edifices’ intricacy with their solidity, the artist reflects on the paradox of a contemporary morning culinary culture often notoriously rich in refined sugars, and the importance of starting the day with a nourishing meal.

all images courtesy of Andrea Papi

regal porticos reconstructed from kitchen utensils

The precarious yet structurally solid pillars of Pilastri, composed of kitchen utensils and intricately stacked eggs, rest atop one another, interlock, and rise from the ground to support the ceiling, urging us to question the solidity of our culinary culture. With his new work, Andreas Papi delves into the importance of a having a well-rounded diet, with each column of the installation metaphorically symbolizing the importance of beginning the day with ‘a king’s breakfast’. In one piece, a column is comprised of 51 cups and 51 sauces configured in a sequence that honors Italy’s most popular caffeinated breakfast drink, while another sees 1335 teaspoons sculpturally piled to form a faceted steel pillar. The exhibition poster itself becomes a part of the exhibition, being nailed to the wall with a sequence of interlocked nails pressed into each other.

Through the pieces, the artist strikes a curious and deliberate contrast between the seemingly unstable balance of the elements and the implied solidity of a construction that purports to act as a pillar. ‘The sustenance of life, food is the pillar of human vigour, but how solid is this pillar when the components of which it is built are corrupted and poisoned?’ questions Papi.

1335 teaspoons stacked to form a faceted steel pillar

detail of the egg column

pillar consisting of 36 steel pans

51 cups and 51 saucers in sequence build the column of the most popular breakfast drink in Italy

detail of the pillar composed of cups

pillar made of steel pans

project info:

name: Pilastri (Pillars)
designer: Andrea Papi

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom