By Perry Santanachote
Special to DNAinfo
LOWER EAST SIDE — Dustin Wayne Harris likes cakes. And he likes women to bake them for him.
This is evident in his new exhibition, Cake Mixx, at Heist Gallery on the Lower East Side through April 18, which features large photographs of cakes — each from a different woman.
Beyond the photography, Harris says the exhibit offers an exercise in "cake reading," in which cakes from the women in his life, especially his ex-girlfriends, offer insight into their relationships with Harris, and how those relationships ended.
The inspiration behind this project came several years back when Harris received a cake for his birthday. It was unsolicited, store-bought and he had no intention of eating it. It languished in his fridge for months before Harris, now 28, decided to snap a photograph.
Although the cake was no longer fresh, the picture turned out well and sparked what became an obsession.
Harris reached out to his past lovers, ex-girlfriends and the current women in his life and asked them to bake cakes for him, without any explanation or instruction. Some of the women hadn't heard from Harris in years, but many were happy to do it.
Dani O'Terry and Meera Rangachar shipped theirs from California, where Harris grew up before moving to New York to attend the School of Visual Arts.
Lindsey Kremkau said she had no idea how to bake a cake until Harris asked her. She considers her first creation — a purple frosted, green foam cake — to be a representation of Harris.
“It’s fun to look at and tastes good but it’s not very appealing or perfect in any way,” Kremkau said. “It’s like a mess on the inside, a mess on the outside but you still want to be near it, touch it and look at it because it’s interesting.”
Harris never ate any of the cakes, and at one point his cake collection took over his Astoria apartment. The freezer, fridge and counter were completely filled.
“It’s hard to keep track,” Harris said. “So many cakes. So many girls.”
