Your parents may have told you this when you were little and learning table manners. Pierre Javelle and Akiko Ida remember how to play with their food--and they're really good at it, too! The two photographers have created amazing dioramas using ordinary food items and human miniatures. You can see more photos in the series here.
The two artists gave an interview for the blog Erratic Phenomena. In it, they explained their creative process:
Pierre: I always look for the narrative structure, and when I've outlined the idea, I have the frame of the image. Very often I make a sketch in my notebook. Then comes a dialogue with Akiko. If she doesn't understand the story, I need to clarify it, or think of an another situation that's more accessible. Next comes the research for the elements. Since there are quite few in our image, we should find something that's "just right," but often we pick up an object in the bottom of a drawer that completes the image! In each step, Akiko is a little like the project chief. She doesn't follow all these steps very closely, but she keeps just enough distance so that she can be objective in the end. During the shoot, I take care of the lighting and technical parts. An image will be validated when we're both happy with its tone and its aspect. When it makes us smile or when the result surprises us, we've won!
Akiko: Pierre is very good at constructing narrative and model-making (his talent from Beaux-Arts, the art school), and everything technical when shooting. I'm much more like a stylist who takes care of the details of the scene. I have much finer fingers than he does, so it's often my role to move the small figures or to install tiny elements.