Bobby Baker's Edible Family Returns to Tate Britain

Bobby Baker's 1976 installation 'An Edible Family in a Mobile Home' is being recreated at Tate Britain as part of the feminist art exhibition 'Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990'. The original work, housed in a prefabricated home from Acme Housing Association in East London, featured five life-sized edible figures made from sweet dough, icing, biscuits, and baked goods. Visitors were encouraged to eat the family, including a mother figure who dispensed tea from her head and snacks from her torso. Baker, then 25, created the piece out of disillusionment with the elitist, sexist art world, addressing the lives of young mothers in prefabs and the undervaluation of care work. The new version, funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, will be free to visit on Tate's South Lawn from November 8 to December 3, 2023, and March 8 to April 7, 2024. The edible sculptures, made with Garibaldi biscuits, meringues, and various cake flavors (including a vegan option) by London bakery Lily Vanilli, will be served by students from Chelsea College of Arts and young women recruited through You Make It, a charity promoting racial and class inclusion. After the exhibition, the work will tour the UK in collaboration with social justice organization Idle Women.