photographer kelsey mcclellan color coordinates the aesthetics of snacking

we’ve all been there. a life on the go — whether you’re feeling peckish at a rainy bus stop or treating yourself to a midnight snack on the subway home — sometimes necessitates doing away with normal table manners. lacking a more solid surface, eating food from our laps is often the only alternative, and it’s something that photographers kelsey mcclellan and michelle maguire  has turned into a veritable art form in her photo series, ‘wardrobe snacks’. 

all images © kelsey mcclellan, courtesy of the artist
zero bar (left) and oyster (right)

taking her cue from characters in her own life, kelsey mcclellan‘s images — with art direction and styling by michelle maguire — beautifully represent more DIY versions of tucking into your dinner. whether it’s a lunchtime office worker perched on a park bench, a chocolate bar lover squashed onto a crowded bus or the artist’s own stepdad, who refused a plate in favour of resting his sandwich on his thigh, each composition is both artfully arranged and instantly recognisable. 

strawberry wafer (left) and hashbrown (right)

mcclellan’s images play cleverly with color, matching each snack in question to the clothes of the snacker. with a closely cropped focus on the hands of each model, viewers minds are allowed to wander, inventing humorous back stories for each new photo and reasons behind the makeshift meals. 

‘they’re informal — perhaps even a bit awkward — spaces as far as eating is concerned’, explains the artist, ‘yet the diner always appears to be comfortable and perfectly satisfied with his chosen snack, almost zen-like.’ 

biscuit (left) and donut (right)

onigiri (left) and matcha soft serve (right)

fillet o’ fish (left) and black liquorice (right) 

sicilian pizza (left) and grippo’s (right)