Sugar & Shutter

Sugar has always been more than a sweetener; it’s a spark, a temptation, a little chaos in crystal form. My planned project dives into that allure with two series: first, products bathed in light, their glossy surfaces catching every aspect; then, people meeting them in playful, unscripted encounters. Light, not shadow, will lead here, revealing the sticky joy we rarely photograph so directly.

Products in Pure Light

Imagine the products first: elegant jars of artisanal honey cascading like liquid gold, ornate boxes of macarons stacked in pastel towers, shimmering bars of hand-painted chocolate with veins of gold leaf, or spun-sugar sculptures fragile as dreams. No dark corners; just crisp, inviting light tracing their curves, drips, and dustings. These still lifes will ask: What makes sugar seductive before a single bite?

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.

— Ernestine Ulmer

Playful Human Indulgences

Then come the people, drawn to these treats without inhibition. A tongue darts out to lick glossy frosting from a cupcake’s peak, slow and deliberate. Fingers plunge into fluffy cotton candy, pulling away threads that melt on lips. Someone bites into a cream-filled eclair, letting filling ooze playfully down their chin, eyes half-closed in delight. Another teases a lollipop across smiling teeth, or crunches a praline, shards scattering like confetti. These moments capture sugar’s pull: the lick, the nibble, the unrestrained savoring that blurs need and pleasure.

This project reimagines sugar, not as villain or virtue, but as a vivid player in our rituals. How does light change temptation? What stories do our mouths tell? Stay tuned as these sweets come alive.

In the hush before indulgence, may sweetness find its glow.

Evie Fayé