Here’s What You Get When You Put Your iPhone in a Deep Fryer

There’s just no way around it, so it’s probably best to just get it out of the way and say it up front: Henry Hargreaves likes to play with his food.

The food artist and photographer often juxtaposes edible stuff with biting (Man! Unavoidable, I tell you) commentary on popular culture, and our sometimes fraught relationship with what we eat. In a meditation on our national sugar fixation, for instance, he’s filled a pig piñata with pork products (and yes, then smashed it open, ew). Other times, he just has fun. To wit: the series Jello Submarine (yes, literally), and Bacon alphabet (exactly what you think it is, only better).

Deep Fried Gadgets, which was shot by Hargreaves and styled by Caitlin Levin, falls somewhere in between: a commentary on disposable, consumer culture served up hot, greasy, and probably not too healthy — just like our fast food nation likes it. And it’s fun.

I like to play with food and the juxtaposition of different worlds. I found a video of some japanese kids trying to deep fry a PSP and eat it, it didn’t work and they made a mess of it, but I loved the idea and thought it could be expanded and photographed in a beautiful way. Electronics have become almost a holy device, the way a new apple device sends people out of their minds. But as soon as the next model comes out the last is immediately forgotten. This is a commentary about the similarities between tech culture and fast food. Quickly devoured and then discarded because of our appetite for the newest product.

–Henry Hargreaves