Artist’s Palate: Cerith Wyn Evans’ recipe for Laverbread

Much like his chosen dish of laverbread, Cerith Wyn Evans is one of Wales’ most treasured national exports. The conceptual artist and filmmaker, who won the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture in 2018, is best known for searing neon works that dance in space and leave traces on the mind and retina. Infused with poetry, philosophy and codes, his art subverts existing communication systems to invent an entirely new vocabulary. Contrary to its name, laverbread is not bread, but a versatile seaweed farmed off Wales’ south coast, near the artist’s hometown of Llanelli. ‘It’s a recipe in a sense because it goes through so many preparations,’ says Evans, referring to the dish as ‘black gold’. ‘I’m made of this. I ate it every single day for breakfast throughout my childhood,’ he says. For Evans, its beauty lies in its consistency: a rich, globular, gleaming ‘black gold’ ‘burgeoning with antioxidants’. From 8 October 2022 – 5 February 2023, Evans will stage his largest show in the UK to date at Mostyn in Wales, a site-specific multisensory exploration of mind, body and language.

Cerith Wyn Evans’ recipe for Laverbread

Laverbread is made from laver seaweed, which has been washed to remove grit and sand, and then boiled for several hours with a little water to create a gelatinous puree. However, you can also buy laverbread online. There are many ways to cook laverbread, but a popular way is to mix it with oatmeal, shape it into patties and fry it until golden brown. Squeeze over some lemon and serve with fried bread, bacon, and cockles or oysters.

INFORMATION

A version of this article appears in the November 2022 Art Special Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today (opens in new tab).