Ulla von Brandenburg recreates historic 1973 exhibition on European confectionery

‘Do not eat the sweets yet,’ German artist Ulla von Brandenburg commands, walkie-talkie in hand. After a few tense moments, each of the 100 schoolchildren she has recruited for her Sweet Feast project edge sheepishly in single file through the doors of London’s Whitechapel Gallery.
The camera rolls and the subjects (though with some hesitation) fall in line – unlike their counterparts in this exact spot in January 1973. Back then, to hail the UK’s entry into the European Common Market, more than 500 schoolchildren had been invited to sample a small selection of sweets to learn about ‘confectionery as an art form’.
There were contributions from members of the newly expanded European community, including Eiffel Tower shaped lollipops, German gummy mice, coffee-flavoured Hopjes from Holland, Italian marzipan fruits and salty Danish licorice. But events took a bittersweet turn when the overly zealous children succumbed to temptation, overwhelmed the gallery guard and devoured the entire exhibition.
Still from Sweet Feast, 2018, by Ulla von Brandenburg, Super 16mm film. © Whitechapel Gallery
In a multidisciplinary piece in partnership with Le Prix Marcel Duchamp, von Brandenburg has recreated this unexpected turn of events through performance and film, marrying the structure of theatre with the freedom of art. ‘This was all very frightening for me,’ she laughs, having previously worked on films and performances with an all-professional cast of actors, ‘this wasn’t rehearsed, it was more of a “happening”.’
Behind the scenes, a teacher mouths instructions frantically from the sidelines as the children – from local school Arnhem Wharf – meander around the sweet-stacked tables. A tambourine signals the completion of a scene and so far, all sweets are still miraculously intact. As the next scene develops at an accelerating pace, the distress of the guard (the only trained actor in the film) mounts, and the anarchic children dominate and eventually demolish the display.
Screened in the Whitechapel’s immersive second gallery, the film is accompanied by a geometric and vibrant seating structure, designed by the artist and upholstered in fabric by Nanna Ditzel for Danish textile experts Kvadrat. Viewers are invited to clamber onto the structure, as though a seamless extension to the film. ‘It’s important to make the barrier between the public and work as small as possible,’ von Brandenburg says.
Installation view of Sweet Feast, 2018, by Ulla von Brandenburg, at Whitechapel Gallery, London. © Whitechapel Gallery
Both playful and political, the work also explores the radical shift in attitudes towards sugar, which is rapidly becoming the forbidden fruit of our time. ‘There are a lot of obese kids, which is a big problem, so I didn’t want to handle a very difficult topic in a naïve way,’ the artist continues.
In her multilayered Sweet Feast, von Brandenburg combines the curiosity of childhood, the looming uncertainty of Brexit and skilfully refines the art of controlled chaos in the process.
Related: tuck into Ulla von Brandenburg’s recipe for orangettes
Sweets, 1973, installation view.
Still from Sweet Feast, 2018, by Ulla von Brandenburg, Super 16mm film. © Whitechapel Gallery
Installation view of Sweet Feast, 2018, by Ulla von Brandenburg, at Whitechapel Gallery, London. © Whitechapel Gallery
INFORMATION
‘Sweet Feast’ is on view until 31 March 2019, two days after the UK is due to leave the European Union. For more information, visit the Whitechapel Gallery website
ADDRESS
Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London E1 7QX
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressing
Part of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
By Orla Brennan
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationship
Announcing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
By Hugo Macdonald
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craft
The heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
By Cristina Kiran Piotti
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuit
Ella Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
By Hannah Silver
-
The art of the textile label: how British mill-made cloth sold itself to Indian buyers
An exhibition of Indo-British textile labels at the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is a journey through colonial desire and the design of mass persuasion
By Aastha D
-
Artist Qualeasha Wood explores the digital glitch to weave stories of the Black female experience
In ‘Malware’, her new London exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, the American artist’s tapestries, tuftings and videos delve into the world of internet malfunction
By Hannah Silver
-
Ed Atkins confronts death at Tate Britain
In his new London exhibition, the artist prods at the limits of existence through digital and physical works, including a film starring Toby Jones
By Emily Steer
-
Tom Wesselmann’s 'Up Close' and the anatomy of desire
In a new exhibition currently on show at Almine Rech in London, Tom Wesselmann challenges the limits of figurative painting
By Sam Moore
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next year
Tate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
By Anna Solomon
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlight
For more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his muse. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
By Hannah Silver
-
From counter-culture to Northern Soul, these photos chart an intimate history of working-class Britain
‘After the End of History: British Working Class Photography 1989 – 2024’ is at Edinburgh gallery Stills
By Tianna Williams