Bobby Baker performance

45 minutes

Hayward Gallery, London; National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham; Old Mill Arts Centre, Loughborough

Packed Lunch was a 45 minute performance for an audience who were invited to sit at long tables and eat a packed lunch prepared and served by Bobby Baker. The meal consisted of a hard-boiled egg (dyed pink for women, blue for men); a hand-made brown bread roll filled with Flora Margarine; a small bag of crudités; a small tub of aioli; and a piece of fruit. As they ate their meals, the audience were shown a slide show comprised of 80 images photographed by Andrew Whittuck that documented the preparation of the lunch contents. Moving through the slides, Baker lectured the audience on her skill, experience, and consideration for their wellbeing, in the preparation of the food they were consuming.

Commissioned by Helen Chadwick for the Hayward Annual touring exhibition, 1979