Bacon of Hope by schattenspiele

A single strip of bacon is growing out of a crack in the tarmac. Surrounded by darkness and grey concrete, it radiates an almost divine light of warmth and hope. What at first appears to be an absurd still life is, at the same time, reminiscent of a small revelation: even where there is, in fact, nothing left, a glimmer of hope can emerge.

The idea for ‘Bacon of Hope’ arose from a play on words with the expression ‘Beacon of Hope’. The beacon of hope was, without further ado, transformed into a piece of breakfast bacon. The deliberately over-the-top staging turns an everyday object into something almost sacred, whilst at the same time playfully poking fun at the grand, melodramatic images of hope and optimism.

The image is intended both to raise a smile and to create a brief moment of warmth. The bacon does not represent a specific message, but rather the sometimes absurd realisation that hope does not always appear where one expects it to.

Photographically, the work was created from 10 elaborately staged individual shots taken with a 100mm focal length. The bacon was digitally placed on a cracked patch of tarmac and highlighted with carefully directed light, making it appear like a precious object. The lighting atmosphere was then digitally enhanced to emphasise the almost divine character of the scene.

“Bacon of Hope” combines humour, everyday culture and a deliberately exaggerated visual language, making it particularly well-suited as an unusual eye-catcher in modern, creative and humorous living spaces.