Anikó Sáfrán creates conceptual art that invites you to lean in and explore. Her newest project Decompositions (9/9–11/1) highlights a staggering fact: 25% of U.S. landfill content is discarded food, and half of all fresh produce in the country is wasted before reaching consumers. When trapped in landfills, this waste decomposes slowly and releases methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Sáfrán doesn’t shy away from these truths and turns the spotlight on herself in Decompositions: where the art captures the remnants of her family’s food consumption—waste, loss, and compost—by placing organic materials onto photographic paper and exposing them to sunlight, using only the paper’s own emulsion for image development. The resulting colors emerge from chemical reactions between the paper and the materials, which she then scans and digitally enhances to clarify and amplify their hues.
The artist’s work is motivated by her engagement with the social, political, and natural worlds. An interdisciplinary artist rooted in photography, she uses various media to create 2-D and time-based works and site-specific installations.
Decompositions is on display in the Buchanan Partners Art Gallery on the second floor of the Didlake Grand Foyer from September 9 through November 1.