Ruth Hazel
Ruth Hazel
The Pantry (2020) Pantry simulation made of two walls with shelving, spoken recording, A3 poster
Image Description1: Two walls painted orange stand upright, with shelves and jars sparsely placed on the shelves. Two speakers are placed to the outside corners (this plays a spoken word piece).
Image Description 2: A poster hangs from a white wall, it is bright turquoise with an orange border. It has a hand drawn tub of peanut butter, the words above read 'I like the cheap stuff' and the words below 'Oily and sweet stuff'.
Content warning: parental abuse and eating disorders.
This is the first outing of The Pantry, a work in progress. Here it houses a poetic retelling of a real memory. A little moment that shaped a lifetime. A love of peanut butter, the birth of disordered eating and the desire to create comfort and food for others. It is about regaining control, recognising the complexity of trauma in order to move forward with balance and well placed care.
Fanny von Beaverhausen aka Ruth Hazel is a working class queer artist and Animal Crossing enthusiast from Pitsea, just trying to figure things out. Using memory of moments in time to tell a story and create connection with the listener. Using settings seemingly insignificant, the ignored spaces of domesticity and servitude to create room for performance, chaos or space for the viewers thoughts. They make work out of stuff that is recycled, free or dirt cheap that won't contribute to damaging the environment which is a primary concern. They are researching growing practices for the physical and mental nourishment and the origins of our relationships with food and the effect on our mental health.
Fanny doesn't live in the third person except on this page.