"Japanese people like to say that they "eat with their eyes," relishing the colors, shapes, and textures of a dish before it ever hits the tongue. The phrase applies all the more when the dish in question isn't meant to be eaten at all. Last year, I was one of two hundred thousand people to visit "Looks Delicious!," an exhibition organized by the cultural center Japan House London showcasing dozens upon dozens of shokuhin sampuru-mesmerizingly lifelike handmade food replicas that appear in the windows and display cases of restaurants, kiosks, and bars across Japan."
"Shokuhin sampuru are a roughly ninety-million-dollar industry, and a beloved part of Japanese pop culture. A few decades ago, there was a show on Japanese television in which s hokuhin sampuru artisans competed to make the most convincing replicas of dishes, a sort of inverse of " Is It Cake? " But, according to Japan House, "Looks Delicious!" marks the first time that a cultural institution has dedicated a show exclusively to food replicas. The exhibition originated last year at London's Japan House and became its most popular show ever-perhaps in part because shokuhin sampuru feel especially pertinent in a political-cultural environment that so often confounds the real and the fake."
Shokuhin sampuru are highly realistic handmade food replicas used in restaurant windows and displays across Japan. The exhibition "Looks Delicious!" showcased dozens of these lifelike models and attracted around two hundred thousand visitors at Japan House London before traveling to Japan House Los Angeles. Shokuhin sampuru form a roughly ninety-million-dollar industry and occupy a place in popular culture, including past television competitions among artisans. The exhibition represents the first occasion a cultural institution dedicated a show exclusively to food replicas and highlights meticulous craftsmanship and the visual experience of simulated food.
Read at The New Yorker
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