Art21

Artist Always Wanted to Play with Her Food #CandiceLin

Candice Lin recounts a childhood memory of spotting a chicken head in a Chinese restaurant and yearning to take it home, a desire that now fuels her artistic practice. As an adult, she channels that impulse into installations that repurpose food and other discarded objects. Lin’s work is defined by sensorial installations that probe the porosity of the body. She deliberately designs pieces where smell, sound, and tactile sensation precede visual revelation, allowing the artwork to fill the viewer’s body before it is seen. She recalls, “I’d be really excited and want to take it home… as an adult, that’s an artist,” and adds, “It fills your body as a viewer… and haunts you a little bit.” These statements illustrate her intent to make the experience linger. By misusing everyday consumables, Lin challenges conventional notions of value and utility, expanding the language of contemporary art and prompting audiences to reconsider the relationship between consumption, memory, and embodiment.