Jenner's Christmas Cake

In the months preceding Christmas 2009, Edinburgh City Council gave five Scottish artists 1000 pounds to design an alternative Christmas decoration to be situated in Edinburgh City Centre over December.  I proposed a seven foot, edible Christmas Tree, which could be eaten by the public in the days coming up to Christmas.

The situation went two ways.  The council wanted to attract shoppers to spend more money at Christmas.  My Christmas Cake fitted the brief perfectly- fitted nicely into the pages and situated in Jenner's Department Store on Princes Street.  However, it gave me the opportunity to venture out of the gallery network and insularity of the 'art community'.  As I handed out pieces of the Christmas cake to shoppers, I realised that it the art work wasn't just about appreciating the physical object.  The cake brought strangers together.  It was a facilitator for relationships to form, conversations to happen.