Isaac Monté

Every year tons of food are being thrown away by supermarkets, because the food expires before it is being sold. For Isaac Monté his Meat Project in 2015, he re-used expired meat from supermarkets. By taking the material out of its context and reframing it he aims to create awareness around issues of waste in relation to meat production, distribution and consumption, and to show the urgency of evolution in those practices.

Expired slices of bacon get decellularized upon a laboratory treatment. With this process – that is currently being used in the latest research on tissue regeneration – meat loses all its cellular content, turns transparent white, feels rubbery and gets a marble look. Isaac discovered that this recycled raw material can be shaped, dried, glued and stretched. By applying this technique he is not only changing the look and shape of meat, but above all its meaning.

The result is a series of lighting objects; their shape is inspired by Escherichia coli, a bacteria that resides in meat and causes meat spoilage after a certain period.