This ongoing project investigates the indulgence and excess embedded in afternoon tea culture. In contemporary society, the pursuit of ritualistic, aestheticised consumption has led to mountains of surplus pastries and disposable packaging. The work captures the aftermath of this ritual—once the elegance fades, what is the ecological cost required to compensate for these discarded exquisite boxes and untouched desserts?

4:45 PM presents a table of unfinished afternoon tea. The artist collects waste packaging from local markets and dessert shops, transforming them into a substrate for mycelium growth. Within the installation, the discarded packaging faintly emerges through the forms of the dessert sculptures. The mycelium serves as a decomposer, spreading through, occupying, and transforming the remnants of delicate aspiration, revealing the extent to which refined human lifestyles rely upon and extract from natural cycles.

Furthermore, through this work, the artist challenges the possibilities of biomaterials as a core medium for artistic creation, positioning the work as a medium for public discourse to reflect on the hidden costs of refined waste and our collective consumer habits.

Joanna Cheng is an artist and designer working across speculative design, product design, biodesign, and visual arts to explore critical issues in ecology, biology, health, environment, and the future. She holds an MA in Biodesign from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.