Delicious or revolting? The strange taste of chocolate art

Jenny said she knew Anya’s work from youth collective Jupiter+ Orbit but was still taken aback by the Paisley installation.

“The first time I came in, it was the smell,” she says.

“You really get hit from outside. Maybe I won’t like chocolate by the end but it will be interesting to see people’s reactions.”

Stroke is partly funded by Future Paisley, a cultural regeneration partnership programme led by Renfrewshire Council. Their chair, Councillor Lisa Marie Hughes, says whatever the public reaction, the work will have benefits for Paisley.

“A free work by a Turner nominated artist is an economic generator,” she says.

“It will bring people here who will support our local businesses but it’s also an open art experience. We all have opinions about art, we like things or we don’t like things, but we can come and think about it, maybe consider visiting again.

“Paisley is a radical town. We like things that are new and interesting. We’re opinionated people and we like to talk to other people about it.”

As for the artwork – it’s designed to oxidise over time and slowly decay.

When the show is over on 31 December, the shop will become a café where the only chocolate will be served on mugs or plates and not on the walls.

Anya Gallaccio’s Stroke is at 18 High Street, Paisley from 7 September to 31 December.