Abstract Art Brings GMOs To Attention

Food is a sensory experience; our eyes have already taken our first bites before our food even touches our taste buds. That's what makes photographer Ajay Malghan's series of up-close-and-personal food photographs so entrancing. 

In his photo series, "Naturally Modified", Malghan uses colored lights to create ghostly, distorted shadow images of popular ingredients. His work has featured everything from carrots to strawberries and sliced meats, all with the intent of inspiring viewers to ask themselves: What do we really know about the foods we consume?

The artist created these pieces as a statement on the shocking truth of genetically modified foods. The project began two years ago during Malghan's graduate studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design. 

GMO technology splices the genes of plant, animal, bacterial, and viral organisms in order to create new crop species that are designed to be bigger, grow better, and be more resistant to disease. The process of GM modification in foods is publicly criticized as being as distortive and strange as Malghan's work makes it out to be. 

These photographic abstractions of otherwise friendly fruits should put the viewer on alert; if these foods look alien, or even inedible, that may not be too far from the truth.