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Israeli Designer Imagines Luxury Brands As Commodity Products In Art Exhibition

What would the packaging look like if Ferrari made pasta? How about if Tiffany & Co. produced yogurt?

An Israeli designer created answers to these and similar questions in a new exhibition at the Design Museum Holon – an exhibition that is at once a visually lush experiment in branding and a thought-provoking commentary on marketing and consumerism.

Tiffany & Co. yogurt as imagined by Peddy Mergui in his exhibition “Wheat Is Wheat Is Wheat.”

“Wheat Is Wheat Is Wheat” by designer Peddy Mergui, the owner of agency Talking Brands, adapts the branding of high-end luxury brands to everyday food commodities. Imagined products include milk by tech giant Apple, eggs by Versace, coffee by Cartier, olive oil by Benneton, fruit by Nike, salt and pepper by Hermes, Burberry noodles, biscuits by Dolce & Gabbana, infant formula by Chanel, Bulgari butter, whole wheat flour by Prada and more.

Ferrari pasta as imagined by Peddy Mergui in his exhibition “Wheat Is Wheat Is Wheat.”

At face value, Mergui’s works are artful reinterpretations of brands into different product mediums. Still, his intent is deeper than just providing novel eye candy. Indeed, Mergui aims to illustrate, in part, how a strong brand, positioned well and continually reinforced through marketing, can create an attractive aura around even the most basic products, generating an appeal that compels people to pay extravagant sums.

In this way, the exhibition can be viewed as both a celebration of the power of branding – and a critique of it. The Design Museum Holon emphasizes the latter view in its description of the exhibition: “Gertrude Stein's famous phrase ‘A rose is a rose is a rose’ reveals things to be nothing more than what they are. Similarly, in ‘Wheat Is Wheat Is Wheat,’ Mergui exposes us to the big lie of ostentatious purchases: flour branded by Prada is nothing more than flour. In doing so, he confronts us with our participation in the culture of conspicuous consumption.”

While the branded food Mergui creates is fictional, he’s certainly provided food for thought with his works, which debuted several years ago but are newly exhibiting at the Design Museum Holon. Regardless of your interpretation of the themes and semantics, the exhibition is an outstanding example of creative product/packaging design. Check out some more examples below.

Prada whole wheat flour as imagined by Peddy Mergui.

Versace eggs as imagined by Peddy Mergui.

Cartier coffee as imagined by Peddy Mergui.

Nike-branded fruit as imagined by Peddy Mergui.

Chanel infant formula as imagined by Peddy Mergui.

By ASI