Abandoned macaroni and cheese in downtown Kitchener turned into art installation; is then stolen

So, on Wednesday, someone left a half-eaten plate of mac and cheese on a sidewalk in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.  Then, this happened:

A photo of the abandoned macaroni and cheese-turned-art installation. Abandoned Snack (2019) (Terry Kelly / CTV Kitchener)

Unfortunately, on Thursday, the “installation” disappeared.  But CTV learned who had made the sign for this important work of art:

CTV was contacted by a man who claims that the placard for the so-called art piece was made by Jeff Woods.

Woods, though, maintains that he did not create it, claiming that he was given the placard for the so-called art piece to attach to the pole next to it.

“This obviously was a piece of contemporary art from an emerging urban contemporary artist,” Woods says.

“And I’ve seen other examples of their art around town, with things like the abandoned cart series that seems to be some kind of commentary on consumerism.”

But Woods says he doesn’t know who the so-called artist is.

He says that on Thursday morning, he found out that the plate was gone, but he’s not sure if it was vandalized or stolen.

“It’s a toss-up. There’s critics of all art in society and I’m not certain whether it was vandalized or whether it was removed because of its presumed future high value,” he explains.

He likens the so-called art piece to those of high-profile anonymous artist Banksy.

So does this plate of macaroni mean something, or is it just a plate of macaroni?

Three years ago, a man trapped himself in a banana barrier at Kitchener City Hall . Zhaoyi Kang, a Chinese man who immigrated to Canada, built “The Well” to represent racial barriers that people face.

Woods say he can’t say for sure, but he thinks that the macaroni carries deep meaning within its elbows.

“I’m not going to project a meaning onto the art on behalf of someone else,” he says. “To me, it spoke to a class divide. A lot of the issues that are coming up in Kitchener around gentrification.”

“MISSING Art Exhibit. Last Seen at Corner of King and Water August 29th at approximately 9am This is a prized cultural, and artistic artifact of Downtown Kitchener REWARD Plate of Mac and Cheese”

The mystery may never be solved.

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Part-time despot and Dutch mini-pancake connoisseur. Has been known to play a musical instrument or two, much to the chagrin of people and pets around him.Visit me on Mastodon