Food Rhythms: Morning Fare

Food Rhythms: Morning Fare by Jinxin Liu explores the relationship between food, agriculture and everyday life through the familiar foods found on a traditional Chinese breakfast table. The work reflects how everyday foods form part of living food heritage, carrying culinary traditions and cultural memory across generations.

Born in Linyi, China, in 2003, Liu graduated from Qufu Normal University in 2026 with a BA in Art. She is also an artist at Seeing the Mountain Art Gallery in Rizhao, China. Her work has received recognition through national student art and design platforms, including the Third Prize at the 2024 National Youth Art Competition and the Third Prize at the Milan Design Week, China University Design Exhibition.

Created using traditional Chinese painting techniques and pigments on xuan paper, the artwork depicts a variety of traditional Chinese grain-based foods, including sesame flatbread, youtiao (fried dough sticks), zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), shaomai and steamed flower rolls. Wheat, glutinous rice and other crops are transformed through human knowledge and craftsmanship into foods that are deeply embedded in everyday life and cultural memory, forming part of a living food heritage passed down through generations.

For Liu, the inspiration came from growing up surrounded by the sights, smells and warmth of local food stalls. The steam rising from breakfasts and the variety of familiar local foods reminded her that behind every meal lies a connection to crops, land and the people who cultivate and transform them.

Through this work, Liu invites viewers to look beyond familiar foods and reflect on their origins. The painting celebrates the relationship between agriculture, food heritage and food culture while expressing a broader appreciation for the land, food and the everyday traditions that connect communities across generations.