When it comes to food, nothing says “celebration” like a good ol’ cake. Getting married? Cut a wedding cake. Turning another year older? Eat a birthday cake. And then there are gender reveal cakes, which have gained popularity in the last decade. Basically, if you’re celebrating a cheerful and happy event, a cake is likely on the agenda.
But for baker Paige Heimark, making cake is her way of expressing her anxiety about where our world is headed.
Specifically, Heimark recreates cake versions of disastrous events. For example, she made a cake of the Oklahoma City Bombing of 1995. The cake, an edible replica of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, was garnished with crushed candies and chocolates.
Heimark also baked a cake of Chernobyl, the devastating nuclear accident of 1986.
While it may be difficult to understand why a person would make cakes of horrific events, it may help to consider Heimark’s background. According to an article on Munchies, Heimark received her BFA in sculpture from Penn State University. She used to work at a bakery, where she noticed similarities between making sculptures and baking cakes.
"A lot of people think making disaster cakes is in very bad taste, but I’m OK with doing things in bad taste."https://t.co/YWJNNQETPU
— VICE (@VICE) July 1, 2019
And as she told Munchies, “Cakes are often synonymous with celebration, and it’s interesting to notice what we choose to celebrate with cake and what we don’t.”
Essentially, Heimark has been exploring difficult themes and concepts through her preferred medium: cake.
But on Facebook, the “disaster cakes” haven’t been well-received by most people.
Some felt that they were totally disrespectful.
Others expressed their disbelief with concept.
“This is ridiculous,” said one user.
Another comment said, “Yeah not cool.”
Since the pieces are edible cakes, “tasteless” seemed to be the word of choice.
Simply put, a majority of people were not pleased with the idea of disaster cakes.
A few folks speculated that the cakes were just made for attention.
Others figured a destroyed building is easy to recreate as a cake.
As you can imagine, the Oklahoma City Bombing cake prompted some users to share their personal experiences.
They went on to add that such a cake can bring about painful memories.
Another user, who was near the devastating attack, didn’t know what to feel upon seeing the cake.
In the thread of Facebook comments, it only seemed like one person understood Heimark’s approach.
While many don’t approve, it’s important to remember that she’s exploring specific concepts in her own way.
After all, much like “good” food, art is extremely subjective.
