Deep Fried Gadgets
Technology gets the greasy spoon treatment in a photo series by Henry Hargreaves
Beer battered tablets and crispy fried notebooks are just a few of the dishes served up in “Deep Fried Gadgets”, a delicious new series by photographer Henry Hargreaves. Inspired by an internet video of a Japanese youth deep frying and eating his PSP, Hargreaves decided to refine the idea by toning down the danger and upping the artistry. With the concept in tow, Hargreaves began gathering up used gadgets—ranging from MacBooks to Game Boys to external hard drives—from friends who were willing to indulge his artistic vision.
When asked about the obvious dilemmas one faces when deep frying a battery pack, Hargreaves confesses that the objects are actually models made from foam core and decorated with images of the actual devices. “I was nervous about what would happen when I put them in 400 degree oil—were these things going to kick back at me?” Hargreaves tells Cool Hunting. With this added precaution, Hargreaves and food stylist Caitlin Levin went to work plating up the tech gadgets in the style of a greasy spoon diner.
Hargreaves sees a natural narrative between fast food and mobile technology. As he explains, “You get the device, you’re excited about it, you consume it, and then you disregard it.” While the self-taught photographer does a fair amount of commercial work—including food photography—his side projects tend to challenge traditional genres. In the case of “Deep Fried Gadgets”, Hargreaves wanted to break out of the “food porn” look by presenting something that was at once mouthwatering and repulsive.
Constantly exploring new avenues, the photographer recently constructed a portrait of Queen Elizabeth from 1,400 pieces of toast in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubillee. CH has previously featured Hargreaves for his “3DD” series, which depicts nude images of well-endowed females in eye-popping 3D.
Find more examples of Hargreaves’ work on his website, and see all the images from “Deep Fried Gadgets” in our slideshow.
