Are you sitting comfortably? Good, because this is going to take some explaining.
An Australian antiques trader, William Robert Johnston left his extensive collection to a trust on his death. The items, gathered from worldwide travels and known as The Johnston Collection, are currently in situ at Fairhall House Museum, East Melbourne, which was once Johnston’s home. With me so far?
Right. As part of the Melbourne Food and Wine festival, eight renowned Australian chefs were invited to create eight special meals for a single day inspired by The Johnston Collection. Interior architect Pascale Gomes-McNabb rearranged the collection into eight tableaux, and, in collaboration with artist Amanda Morgan, photographer James Morgan and the chefs, created the project entitled After the Meal: A Taste for Excess.
Commenting on the nature of extravagance and overindulgence, the result is as spectacular as it is stomach-turning. Visitors (and readers of this article) may well need a couple of alka-seltzers to digest what’s been put in front of them.
