Janine Antoni

Gnaw, 1992

600 lb chocolate cube and 600 lb lard cube gnawed by the artist, 27 heart-shaped packages of chocolate made from chewed chocolate removed from chocolate cube and 130 lipsticks made with pigment, beeswax, and chewed lard removed from lard cube 

Installation dimensions: variable

Gnaw comprises two 600-pound cubes – one of chocolate, the other of lard – and a three-paneled, mirrored cosmetic display case. Using her mouth as a tool, Antoni nibbled the corners of both cubes, leaving visible teeth marks in the material. The chocolate fragments, blended with spit, were melted down and cast into 27 heart-shaped packages for chocolates, while the lard residue was combined with wax and bright red pigment to create 135 tubes of lipstick.