Burger Brooches
Big Mac Brooch #1, 2015
Photo Jesse Hunniford, MONA
Receipt dated 27/01/2015
Burger Brooch #2, front and back. Burger purchased in 2020. Emma Bugg
ABC news media about the brooch Emma made from a burger purchased in 2015, and again in 2020.
Click news image for article
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Media
Emma Bugg’s Big Mac jewellery is an ongoing project, crafted with a fresh burger every five years to examine the phenomenon of non-decomposition in fast food. The next iteration is set for 2025, continuing from the initial piece created in 2015. The idea was sparked after Bugg, typically working with concrete and silver, attended a health retreat in 2015. During the retreat, she heard claims that some fast-food burgers can remain unchanged for years if left uneaten.
Curious and a bit skeptical, Bugg decided to test this theory by purchasing a Big Mac through a drive-through and examining its longevity. As she explained, “I got back home and wanted to see if it were true because I couldn't quite fathom it.” The unchanged state of her first burger brooch inspired her to continue this experiment, transforming fast food into a work of art that questions our food systems and what we consume.
In 2024, Emma had two more fast food pieces in this series selected as finalists in the prestigious Woollahra Small Sculpture prize. These pieces are NUGBOT earrings and Fries with That necklace. (see image below)
The earrings are interactive, and Nugbot is activated when the wearer touches an NFC enabled mobile device to awaken a talking chicken nugget chat bot.
Click image to read article, ABC news, Sept 2020
Nuggets of Wisdom & Fries with That, 2024
Read more about the chicken nugget chat bot, click image or click here
Bic Mac Economic Index
The big mac index was invented by The Economist in 1986 as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are at their “correct” level. It is based on the theory of purchasing-power parity (PPP), the notion that in the long run exchange rates should move towards the rate that would equalise the prices of an identical basket of goods and services (in this case, a burger) in any two countries.
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Text from https://www.economist.com/big-mac-index