Bored Panda reached out to Manami to ask how she balances her intricate designs with the practical nature of food. The artist explained: “Ingredients are inherently beautiful just as they are. When I look at them with sharpened senses, as if I were encountering them for the very first time, I discover their mesmerizing qualities—their shapes, flavors, colors, textures, scents, and how they transform when toasted. My ‘Art on Toast’ is about focusing on these charms and shaping them as if in dialogue with the ingredients. The moment I treat ingredients as mere tools for expression, their allure vanishes.
Take a single radish, for example—no two slices are ever the same. There’s a delicate waviness to the curves and a pink hue that bleeds from within. To bring out those subtle features, I might arrange the slices in straight lines, highlighting their natural undulations. That is the essence of creating art together with these ‘quiet lives.’”
Manami Sasaki’s ‘Art on Toast’ designs feature a rich variety of colors and textures. We were curious to know how she chooses the ingredients that help bring her creative vision to life. She told us: “The vegetables and fruits in front of me are not merely foods, but quiet lives.”
The artist continued: “What matters most to me is the unique, once-in-a-lifetime encounter with these quiet beings. I pick up whatever draws me in, slice it on the cutting board, and that’s when the vision first takes form. If people see my toast as beautiful or delicious, it’s likely because it captures the emotion I felt at that very moment on the cutting board.”
Next, we asked the artist about the most challenging part of using food as her artistic medium. Here’s what she shared: “Because food is alive, it keeps changing—even after it’s placed on the toast. Sour cream can warp shapes with its moisture, ingredients can dry out and lose their luster, and colors gradually shift. It’s a challenge to finish the piece at the perfect moment in a living material’s life cycle.”
“Some ingredients are especially delicate: nori, which distorts in mere seconds; avocado, which quickly darkens; radishes and kiwis, which lose their shine as they dry. Each one has its own rhythm, and that fragility is part of the beauty and challenge.”
To wrap up, Manami gave us a glimpse into some exciting projects she’s looking forward to in the near future: “My dream is to visit local markets in different countries and create toasts inspired by the spirit of each place.
Right now, I’m participating in an artist residency in Los Angeles, writing this very message.
Every morning, I create toasts using fascinating ‘living beings’ I’ve discovered at local farmers’ markets—ingredients I’d never have found in Japan.
When the energy of a place overlaps gently with my sensitivity, a new door opens.
I want to keep expanding these encounters with quiet lives across different parts of the world.”
