Pit #8
Food & Fire mag Pit has established its identity via a series of strong illustrated front covers, so it was a surprise to find their latest issue leads with a photograph.
The cover, featuring a shot by the magazine’s house photographer Robert Billington, has already been voted cover of the month by BSME members. I’m not surprised. It’s a perfect blend of silliness and seriousness: a balloon dog made of sausages. Silly, yes, but also serious – it’s an animal made of processed food, reminding us what a sausage is.
It’s easy to assume that such an idea is the result of an intensive brainstorming session. Not so, art director Holly Catford told me, ‘This wasn’t commissioned as a cover. Robert sent me over the uncooked version of the sausage-dog – we always work remotely, sharing pictures via Whatsapp – which was brilliant, and I immediately wanted to see it cooked. I don’t often make Rob do things but in this case I did.’
The raw version ended up inside the issue (above), anouncing the theme, alongside the Frankfurter typeface. A long cumberland sausage was twisted like a balloon to make the various body parts, with the careful addition of cocktail sticks to keep it steady.
The cooked version was, says Holly, obviously the front cover as soon as she saw it, ‘but there was no grand plan, it just happened.’
Holly Catford is one of the guest speakers at our Flatplan masterclass, 5-6 September. Read more