You didn’t need to understand the intricacies of a relationship to feel the weight of those final words.
A project by Isabella Giancarlo, “Eat Your Heart Out” has been getting a lot of attention this week—and for good reason. On her website, Giancarlo describes the project as “…a series of words remembered from break-ups reimagined as something sweet.” We spoke with Giancarlo recently about her fascinating and tender medium.
What was the catalyst for “Eat Your Heart Out”? Had it been a long time in the works or was it created on a whim?
For me, a loss of appetite typically accompanies the end of a relationship. This is always particularly distressing, as I’m a voracious eater and cook. After a break-up last spring, seven words sat with me that I couldn’t shake. I thought about ways to reclaim that phrase. How could I sweeten words that initially took my appetite away?
I asked friends for their heartbreak quotes and felt those familiar pangs. You didn’t need to understand the intricacies of a relationship to feel the weight of those final words. I’ve taken the last few months to collect my favorite quotes, decide which desserts would best accompany each quote, and finalize my aesthetic vision.
The incorporation of prose onto pastries is an interesting medium. What would you like the viewer to glean when seeing bittersweet messages superimposed on something comforting?
I hope the project says: Go ahead. Gorge. Engage with the uncomfortable, sticky feelings of a broken heart that are so often dismissed as self-indulgent.
Are these musings all your own, or are they a collection from friends and strangers?
Quotes came from my own experiences, those of close friends and, now, I’ve received a flurry from strangers via the submission form on my website. It’s been humbling to have people willing to share their vulnerable parts and it has made the process feel even more intimate and collaborative.
Do you hope to expand “Eat Your Heart Out” and/or do you have other projects planned?
I’m flirting with the idea of doing large-scale prints and/or a small book. I will definitely continue taking submissions and baking for the project, as well as experimenting with GIFs.
To submit your own quote from a breakup, head over to Giancarlo’s submission form. You just might end up becoming her new muse.