Czech gifts, czech souvenirs > Fake Cake - candlestick

Fake Cake

by Maxim Velčovský for Qubus design  (2001)

Here, the inspiration of the cake and candles, lighting the way to future happy years for the honoured person, is totally straightforward. But set in a classic material, the ritual with fire is transformed into a more permanent experience in a symbiosis with its porcelain embodiment. Thanks to mass production, design, the object, the household accessory has become accessible, which is one of the factors separating design multiplied by the thousands from unique artworks. In my case, however, every candle-cake is a symbolic return to the uniqueness of the solitary design piece. Like the true artist, I am a decorator who handles every piece individually. I am a cook who concocts a different colour composition for each cake. The purchaser can thus be certain that the designer has been involved personally in the production of each item. The decorations resemble colour swatches or the packaging design of pill boxes, based on the aesthetics of artificial food dyes, emulsifying culture. The possibility of varied colour designs, as well as the single-colour base in characteristic white, showing off the form, evoke different associations, including taste.