Eustace Mamba b. 1992
50.8 x 40.6 cm
In Eustace's words:
"Rations was built around a Crown Fried Chicken box, painted in red and white stripes (echoing the American Flag,) and opened to reveal the microscopic fried chicken alongside soda, fries, and other highly processed foods.
The image depicts the reality of food access when financial constraints and limited options prevail. In both urban and rural low-income communities, healthy food becomes an expensive, inaccessible, or even unfamiliar concept for individuals who may lack adequate education on healthy eating habits.
When you only have a few dollars to stretch, you buy what fills you up and what’s immediately available, even if it isn’t healthy.
The work is also a quiet critique of how conversations around food often ignore education and infrastructure. Cooking at home assumes time, stability, equipment, and knowledge that aren’t guaranteed.
For the many other food insecure individuals who lack SNAP benefits, their options become even more limited, leading them to rely on inexpensive and highly processed foods that are prevalent in their communities."
